


Love You to Pluto and Back

by angstysilver



Category: CW Network RPF
Genre: Divorce, M/M, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-26
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2018-04-06 05:28:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4209669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angstysilver/pseuds/angstysilver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jensen first told Jared that he wanted a divorce, Jared thought he was joking.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own these people. None of this actually happened. I know, more's the pity.
> 
> It may take some time for J2 to get back together.
> 
> Please do R&R despite that =)

When Jensen first told Jared that he wanted a divorce, Jared thought he was joking. In a “Damnit, Jay, if you leave your dirty socks in the bathroom one more time I’m going to divorce you” sort of way. Jared had snorted and gone to start on dinner. It wasn’t until Jensen followed him into the kitchen and Jared got a good look into those gorgeous greens that he realized how serious Jensen was. It had felt like someone punched him in the gut, forced all the air out of his lungs, and knocked something vital loose. And some days, even a year after the ink on the divorce papers was dry, it still felt like Jared could hardly breathe.


	2. Chapter 2

“Come on, Jared!” Mike whined – honestly whined. “You never come out with us anymore and I never see your giant ass!”

Jared mock-glared at his friend from across the diner booth where they’d met for lunch. “My ass is not giant. And you’re seeing me now, Rosey.”

Mike turned to Tom beside him, looking for backup. “Tell him, Tommy. He never comes out with us.”

The dark-haired man shrugged. “It’s kinda true.”

Groaning, Jared shook his head. “Not you too, man! In case yall have forgotten, I do have a son to take care of. I can’t just sit around all day in my own filth like you,” he said, looking pointedly ad Mike – only half joking. “Or work myself to near death all day and party all night like you,” he said to Tom. 

“Fuck you!” Mike protested. “I’m a stay-at-home husband, right, snoogiebear?” He licked Tom’s cheek while the other man rolled his eyes but otherwise ignored him, focusing on his food. “Besides, you don’t have a son this weekend – Brady’s gonna be with Jenny and Justin. So what’s your next excuse?”

Jared hid his flinch at the mention of Jensen’s boyfriend of six months and the joint custody agreement that meant that his six-year-old son would spend the next week with the new J2 – Jensen and Justin. Justin – a former client of Jensen’s company –had been cohabiting with Jensen for three months and Jared still found it difficult to repress his desire to scratch the blonde’s eyes out. He was nice enough but it was very obvious that he wasn’t comfortable around children, least of all his boyfriend’s son. Plus, there was the whole living with my high school sweetheart, baby daddy, ex-husband thing. It all combined to make Jared less than fond of Justin Hartley.

Focusing back on the conversation, Jared shrugged. “I have some stuff I want to get done around the house.” He hoped vagueness would cause Mike to drop the subject. 

It wasn’t that Jared didn’t want to spend more time with Mike and Tom – even Chris and Steve since he’d gotten over feeling awkward that they were Jensen’s friends before the two had gotten together – but the last few times had ended with Mike trying to set him up with other men. That just wasn’t something for Jared felt he was ready, for reasons he wasn’t ready to discuss.

Mike wasn’t buying it. “Yeah, I call bullshit. Come out with us. You’re really going to miss Kane performing at our favorite club?” Jared could tell he was starting to get serious. “They’ve been trying to play there since forever. You know it would crush them if you bailed.”

Jared had known him since they were both in diapers, and rare an event as it was, it was always scary when Mike Rosenbaum started to make sense. And he was right – Chris and Steve’s band, Kane, had been dreaming of performing at the Oxygen Room way back when they were still high school kids playing in Steve’s garage. The Oxygen Room, affectionately known to regulars as The OR, had been their group’s club of choice since they’d all been old enough to get in – first Jensen, Chris, and Steve and later Jared, Mike, and Tom. Of course, once Jared was old enough to get in without a fake ID he was also too pregnant to be interested. 

Jared did want to go and support Chris and Steve in their accomplishment and it did feel like forever since he’d been able to hang with the group all at once. His and Jensen’s split had been just as hard on their group of friends – tip-toeing around the two and splitting time. Things had gotten much better once everyone realized Jared wasn’t going to start acting like some scorned woman and bad-mouth Jensen all over town, forcing the guys to consider picking sides. No, Jared had handled the divorce with much more grace and maturity than some people twice his age. He explained it by saying that Jensen had been his best friend for 9 years – feelings like that didn’t go away simply because one of them wanted out of the relationship. Besides, he always added, even if the circumstances were such that they hated each other, they still had a child to co-parent. And Jared and Jensen had been able to maintain a relatively friendly relationship, much to Justin’s obvious displeasure, but it was only to himself that Jared ever admitted that he was still just as much in love with Jensen as he had ever been. Not that it mattered now.

Jared sighed. “You’re right. I’ll be there.” Mike clapped and literally bounced in his seat. Tom grinned. “But you’re paying for all my drinks.”

“Done!” they agreed simultaneously.  
\--J2J2J2--

Jared left his office at the community hospital where he was an operations associate at exactly 5pm and picked Brady up from his after-school program at 5:30. 

In general, Brayden Joshua Ackles was a bundle of energy – which was basically how he had been since he made his appearance into the world. His two parents were sobbing uncontrollably, one delirious with pain and the other with raw fear, and Brayden had just opened his tiny mouth, let out the shrillest wail, started wiggling and never seemed to stop. Raising a child was probably the most challenging and humbling series of experience of Jared’s relatively short life, but he had never regretted having Brady. He was a perfect combination of Jared and Jensen from his blonde mop of wavy hair, feline-slanted green eyes, and freckles to his personality that could be both engaging and open as well as reserved and contemplative.  
That day, he was downright sullen as Jared navigated the tree-lined streets between Albright Elementary and their home.

“What’s wrong, Bray?” Jared and Jensen were pretty much the only people who called him that. My silly boys, Jay and Bray, Jensen would sometimes say with a fond smile on his face whenever he found the two engaged in an activity he deemed super dorky.

Brady shrugged one small shoulder and continued to stare out the window at the passing cars and gathering rainclouds, weather that clearly matched his mood.

Jared frowned through the rearview mirror. “Hey, talk to me,” he urged gently.

Brady let out an enormous sigh. “Sully said we can’t be friends anymore.”

Sully, or Sullivan Carlson-Kane, was Chris and Steve’s adopted son. He was eight and had been with them for three years. Generally a sweet kid, Sully was also like any boy his age and easily influenced by other kids, which often put his friendship with Brady – a silly baby by eight-year-old standards – in jeopardy.

Jared held off on reminding Brady that Sully had made the same declaration two weeks ago only to show up at school the next day with cookies to share with the younger boy. “Why’d he say that?”

Shrugging again, Brady didn’t respond.

“Brady,” Jared sighed. Sometimes he was so much like Jensen, broody. “We’re going to continue this discussion at dinner. And I want answers to my questions, young man.”

They pulled into the attached garage of their modest, but cozy, bungalow and Jared started dinner while Brady sat at the kitchen table with the remainder of his homework. The house had been a one-year wedding anniversary present from Jensen’s parents. Jensen had just graduated from the local university and was working his first civil engineering job. Jared was just starting off with college a semester behind his friends, while he worked part-time at the school bookstore and baby Brady passed the nights screaming with colic. They were exhausted, to say the least. But the first night they spent in the house was probably the happiest Jared had ever been. Despite the somewhat painful memories he had with it now, the house was the one thing Jared had insisted upon during the divorce. Although he said it would give Brady some stability, Jared knew that he couldn’t bear to part with the place.

Brady was still quiet when they sat down to eat and Jared was actually starting to worry. “So, why did Sully say yall couldn’t be friends?”

The boy stared at his plate and pushed his peas around. “Am I bad luck?”

Jared frowned, confused. “What? Buddy, of course not. Did Sully say that?” He itched to give Chris and Steve a call.

Brady shrugged again. “No reason,” he mumbled.

Letting out a slow breath, Jared tamped down on his frustration. “Brayden Ackles.” Jared only used his full first name when he meant business and it got the young boy to look up as intended. “Tell me what happened.”

Brady’s lower lip trembled slightly but he didn’t actually start crying. “Sully said Uncle Steve and Uncle Chris were yelling at each other, like you and Papa used to. He said I must be bad luck and he had to stop being my friend so they wouldn’t start living in different houses too.”

Jared experienced several emotions in the following moments. They tumbled into each other, one after the other, like waves against the shoreline. First he felt a father’s protective anger towards Sully for hurting Brady’s feelings. And annoyance with Chris and Steve for involving their sons in their relationship problems. Shame for exposing Brady to his and Jensen’s arguments toward the end when the older man had been so distant that Jared sometimes felt that when they were shouting was the only time Jensen was actually present. And finally an overwhelming sadness for his little boy.

“Oh, Baby Brady,” he sighed and got up to scoop the little body into his arms. He hugged him tight. “You are definitely not bad luck.” Jared carried him into the living room and sat on the sofa with Brady cradled in his arms. They rarely sat like this and Brady rarely allowed himself to be called Baby Brady, feeling much too old for it. But it was times like these that Jared was reminded that Brady was still just a little kid. “Your Papa and I split up because of us. You know that. We both love you so much.” He rubbed Brady’s back and knew from the slight tremors that he was now crying softly into his father’s shirt.

Jared’s heart shattered. He had been so sure he and Jensen had done a good job of reassuring Brady that he wasn’t at fault. But it was true what the younger man had seen on Dr. Phil – kids always found a way to blame themselves. And, apparently, even when they don’t their friends will find a way to, Jared thought sourly.

“Hey,” he spoke softly and encouraged Brady to look him in the eye. “You are the smartest, funniest, coolest kid I know. Way cooler than Papa with his muscle car magazines.” Jared did an exaggerated roll of his eyes at their long-standing teasing of Jensen’s unnatural love for older cars. It got the desired smile, albeit watery. “I love you to Pluto and back, even though it’s not a planet anymore.” Jensen always called that one of Jared and Brady’s dorkiest expressions. “I feel lucky to have you every day. And so does your Papa, okay?”

Brady nodded and buried his face into Jared’s chest, his little arms squeezing Jared’s middle as hard as possible. Jared held him close and pretended for a while that he could protect Brady from anything that could hurt him, including his idiot parents.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jensen knew he was going to marry Jared after their first date in high school but he never planned for it to happen before either of them were old enough to legally drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why this chapter insisted on being so long. Fair warning, it ends rather abruptly.

Jensen knew he was going to marry Jared after their first date in high school but he never planned for it to happen before either of them were old enough to legally drink.

Brady Ackles came into existence on the night of Jensen’s Physics 345 final exam and he’d felt it cause to celebrate.  Celebrating consisted of Jared making the two-hour drive up to the university, heavy drinking and dirty dancing at Steve’s annual End of the Year bash, and screwing like sloppy drunken bunnies in Jensen’s dorm room.  Somehow Jared had the wherewithal to remind Jensen that they had to use a condom – Jared had forgotten to take his birth control that day and mistakenly left the packet at home.  Jensen had stopped buying condoms when Jared started taking the pill six months before.  And because he was horny as hell after being away from his boyfriend for a month leading up to the finals crunch, he launched into a surprisingly convincing monologue about the fact that the previous day’s pill was still in Jared’s system so his chances of getting pregnant were basically nonexistent.  Jared was either equally confident in Jensen’s biological knowledge or drunk enough to believe anything that would justify getting laid because it wasn’t long before he was moaning loudly into the darkness with Jensen buried in as deep as he could take him.

Jensen had been scared shitless to tell his parents that Jared was pregnant.  But breaking the news to them had been a cakewalk compared to the Padaleckis.  That was a nightmare Jensen would probably never forget – breaking Gerald Padalecki’s nose was a pretty memorable event.  Although they handled the news far better than the Padalecki clan, the Ackles were disappointed and they expected Jensen to take proper responsibility for the situation.  They didn’t really force the two boys to get married, but they strongly suggested it in a way that told Jensen they would be very unhappy if it didn’t happen.  Jensen already felt guilty about the pregnancy and the knowledge that Jared had just lost his family because of it, so he broached the subject to Jared knowing that he would agree.

Jensen never knew exactly when the faint, vaguely unpleasant prickling sensation of resentment first began clawing its way up from deep in his gut.  It could have started on their wedding night when he held Jared while he sobbed into Jensen’s chest, overwhelmed by the events of the previous months.  Once Jared had cried himself to sleep, Jensen had lain in the bed and felt the weight of the entire world pressing down on his seemingly inadequate shoulders.  It may have stated when he returned to school the following semester suddenly vastly different from his friends with a brand new husband and a baby on the way.  Or the times he went to work so tired he wanted to cry because he’d been up all night with a screaming Brady and a frazzled Jared.  Could have started the first time he heard someone refer to them as the Ackles and he wondered when exactly they had lost their identities and become his parents.  


The feeling had somehow crept up on Jensen during the five years of marriage that were relatively pleasant, considering the circumstances.  There were plenty of times – maybe even the majority of the time – when Jensen felt content with his life with Jared and Brady.  But towards the end, Jensen would find himself ruminating over the fact that he was only 25 and had been with the same person for over 7 years.  They never had the opportunity to randomly pick up and travel the way Chris and Steve often did, or party whenever they wanted like Mike and Tom – basically, just enjoy being young without the responsibility of caring for a household and child.  All the what-ifs began tugging at the corners of his mind.  There were times when he would come home from work and watch a clearly exhausted Jared make dinner, help Brady sound out words while reading, and still find the energy to smile tiredly at Jensen and ask him about his day.  Jensen would sit with them at the dinner table and talk about the different projects that Beaver Properties was starting, all the while trying to suppress an almost uncontrollable desire to _run_.

It had all come to a head during a business trip to LA to visit one of the Hartley family projects.  Justin had made it clear early on that he was interested and Jensen made it equally clear that he was married.  They’d danced around each other for months with Jensen always drawing a distinct line whenever he felt harmless flirting started to go too far.  But for reasons he couldn’t explain, he allowed himself to drink more than he should have over a business dinner with Justin at the hotel restaurant and didn’t protest when the blonde insisted on escorting him to his room.  Jensen had his tongue down Justin’s throat before he knew he was going to kiss him.  Pressed up against the hotel room door, he’d allowed eager hands to rip open his shirt and barely registered the buttons hitting various surfaces around the room.  Jensen groaned at the feel of Justin’s hard cock bumping up against his own and reveled at how different this was to what he was used to.  But when Justin dropped to his knees Jensen went to grab a fistful of hair and found blonde spikes instead of soft dark tresses and something snapped – this was _different_ and _wrong._  

Jensen didn’t remember how he’d gotten Justin to leave after that but he went home to Jared with a decision.  He had to get out the marriage before he did something stupid – well, stupider.  He couldn’t become one of those philandering spouses that smiled falsely in their family’s faces.  Jensen had never felt more like a selfish prick than when he told Jared that he wanted out.  Hell, Jared had been just a _kid_ when they got married and he had managed to become a supportive husband and selfless father while showing complete dedication to his education and career – like a _fucking superhero_.  And there Jensen was complaining because he never had a chance to play.  He remembered wishing that Jared would scream at him, tell him exactly what kind of a self-centered cuss he was.  But he never did – Jared listened quietly and looked at Jensen with big wet eyes just like Brady’s before grabbing his hand and saying he loved Jensen enough to want him happy, even if that meant letting him go.

The obnoxiously insistent buzzing from his cell jarred Jensen from his thoughts.  He answered without checking the ID.  “Ackles.”

 “Hartley,” came the playful response.

Jensen smiled easily. “What’s up?”  He hunched over his laptop and clicked through a few emails, marking those he would need to read in more detail later.

“Was thinking of making reservations tonight – Sanders?” Justin suggested one of the more upscale restaurants in town that he loved and Jensen hated.  Even now that he could afford to eat in places like that on his own Jensen had a distinct aversion to the stuffy atmosphere, self-proclaimed superiority and entitlement heavy in the air.  Even if he were in the mood for that kind of meal, he still would have had to decline.

“Don’t think so – I doubt Brady would be overly enthused about that.”  Somehow Jensen usually had to remind Justin when Brady would be staying with him, despite the fact that it happened every other week.

“Hmm,” Justin hummed and Jensen could picture him frowning.  “Well…it might do him some good, you know, expose him to something new.”

Jensen took a deep, calming breath before responding.  “Justin, this is the last time I’m going to explain this to you.  I don’t see Brady nearly as much as I’d like to so when he’s with us I have to make it count.  That means that I’m not going to force him to sit through a meal in a restaurant I know he wouldn’t enjoy.”

Justin huffed.  “Okay, calm down.  We won’t go to Sanders, happy?  You’d think I suggested we sell him to the circus or something.”

Jensen’s eyes narrowed even though Justin couldn’t see.  “I really don’t find that amusing.”

“Jensen, you really need to fucking relax.  I hope you’re in a much better mood tonight. Goodbye.”

Jensen dropped his phone back on the desk and pinched the bridge of his nose to stave off a threatening headache.  In the back of his mind he could hear Chris asking him for the thousandth time just what the hell he was doing with Justin.  He always answered him the same way – they had fun together.  And they definitely did but it was times like this when Jensen would have answered Chris by saying that he had no fucking clue. It was no secret that no one was thrilled about his relationship with Justin.  Josh, Mack, and Steve were the only ones who kept their opinions to themselves, but everyone else was pretty vocal about their displeasure.  In general, Jensen felt that they wouldn’t be satisfied with anyone who wasn’t Jared but he also knew that Justin sometimes had a way of being obnoxious about his excessive wealth in a way that even teenage Jared never had.

Sighing, Jensen retrieved his discarded cell and thumbed through the contacts before tapping out a message to Jared. 

_DO/PU?_

It was their way of communicating how they would exchange Brady.  He went back to his emails and got engrossed in solving a materials issue before his phone chirped a half hour later with a text notification.

_Jay: DO 6?_

Jensen responded, _Yeah okay_

So, Jared would be dropping Brady off at 6.  Jensen glanced at his watch.  It was a little after 5 and Jensen would need to leave if he was going to get through rush-hour traffic in the city and make it home in time to meet Jared and Brady.  He had been the last person to leave the office all week so he eagerly logged out and locked up his office, tossing Jim a farewell salute as he passed his office door.

“Some of us still have work to do around here, ya idjit!” Jim Beaver, President and CEO of Beaver Properties and Jensen’s boss, shouted from his office.

‘Sucks for them!” Jensen hollered back and waited for the elevator.  None of the interns, assistants, and other various workers occupying the cube-farm on their floor bothered to look up, accustomed to Jim and Jensen’s banter.

Jensen was inching his way through the city center when he got another call, the melody to Bryan Adam’s “Summer of 69” identifying Chris as the caller.

“Yo,” Jensen answered.

“Jenny!” Chris was one of 3 people who had ever called him Jenny and didn’t end up with a busted lip – the other two were Jared and his mama.  “I need to hear it from your plump girly lips that you’re going to be at the OR tomorrow.”

Jensen decided not to address the comment about his lips – years of experience told him it would be pointless.  “Man, you know I wanna be there but I’ve got Brady for the weekend.”

Chris gave a low chuckle and Jensen frowned.  That was never a good sign.  “Of course you do.  That’s why I just got off the phone with Mama Ackles and reminded her that it’s been way too long since she’s seen her grandbaby.  She’ll be expecting him around 7 tomorrow.”  Jensen could hear the smirk in his voice.  Chris was obviously pleased with himself.

“The fuck, man!” Jensen flipped on his turn signal with a little more force than was necessary.  “First off, that’s not true – I know for a fact she just had Brady _and_ Jared over for dinner like two nights ago.  Second, you brought my mama into this, you ass?”

Chris laughed.  “Yup! Kane is _performing_ at the _OR_ in case you missed the fucking news flash, Jenny.  There ain’t no way you’re missing that.  So it’s either you be a good little boy and drop BJ off at your parents’ house or we sneak him in through the back. But either way, you’re going to be there, got it?”

Jensen groaned.  “Brady isn’t going anywhere near the Operating Room, ever! You know what kind of stuff happens in the back room!”

Chris hummed low.  “Hell yeah, one time me and Steve got so fucking high we went back there and –“

“Okay!” Jensen shouted.  “Okay, I’ll be there, just please spare me the imagery!”

“That’s a good Jenny,” Chris crooned. “Bye now.”

When Jensen pulled into his designated parking spot in his loft’s garage, Justin’s car wasn’t in the unit’s extra parking space and Jensen wondered if he would be making a solo appearance the next night.  Justin hated going to the OR almost as much as Jensen hated going to Sander’s.  It was another reason Chris questioned his relationship – Chris didn’t trust anyone who didn’t find the OR as endearing as their group of friends did.  On the rare occasion that Justin did accompany Jensen there, he usually ended up getting annoyingly jealous when Jensen danced with other people.  During the drive home, Justin would throw what Jensen called a temper tantrum and he would think for a moment about the fact that Jared had never had a problem with him dancing with other people before he remembered that he shouldn’t compare the two.

Jensen threw his workbag down in the office at front of the loft and made his way through the open living space with exposed brick and industrial piping to the spacious master sweat overlooking the city’s old industrial park.  Mike called the loft Jensen’s crisis purchase to accompany the “quarter-life crisis” that caused him to suddenly divorce Jared.  Jensen changed into an old pair of jeans and one of his Copper Bay University t-shirts before heading to the kitchen to start thinking about dinner.

He had just decided to order a pizza when the doorbell rang.  He buzzed Jared and Brady into the building and opened the front door before rummaging through the menu drawer.

“Papa!” Brady raced over and wrapped his arms around Jensen’s waist.

“Hey!” Jensen hefted Brady up into his arms and hugged him tight.  He breathed in his son’s unique scent – shampoo, watermelon, and grass – and felt the stress of the week melt off of him.  He pressed a huge kiss to Brady’s cheek, not at all surprised when he wiped it off dramatically.

“Ugh, gross!” But Brady grinned up at him when his father put him down.

Jensen glanced back at the door and grinned over at Jared, who was smiling softly at their antics.  “Hey, Jay.”

“Hi,” Jared brushed his hair out his eyes.  Jensen couldn’t help but notice that he was letting it get long again, the chocolate brown waves fell softly to his shoulders.

Jensen motioned to Brady’s backpack.  Although, he kept plenty of clothes and other necessities at both residences, he always traveled back and forth with his backpack holding various toys, books, games – the essentials.  “Bray, go on up and put your bag away.  I’m thinking pizza for dinner.”

Brady bounced excitedly.  “Pizza!” He grabbed his bag and rushed up the spiral stairs to the large open space that served as his bedroom.  Sometimes Jensen wondered if he should move to a place where Brady could have an actual room with four walls, but Brady was still at an age where the loft was so different that it was automatically considered cool.

Jensen turned back to Jared and noticed how tired he looked.  “Morgan working you hard?” He asked jokingly, referring to the Chief Operating Officer for Hope Hospital and Medical Centers, HHMC, and Jared’s boss.  “Don’t tell me another patient tried to bring their pet snake into the operating room with them.”

Jared shook his head with a small smile before running a weary hand over his face.  “More like patient left bedbugs in the room.”

Jensen shuddered at the thought.  “Shit.” He poked his head out the kitchen and was satisfied that Brady was too busy tinkering around in his room to have heard him.

Nodding, Jared leaned back against the door.  “Basically.  This is probably the first time I’ve stopped moving since 5 this morning.  And I’m almost positive I haven’t eaten anything today.”

Now that Jensen was paying closer attention, he could see that Jared looked worse than he first thought – pale and exhausted.  Although they were no longer married, Jensen liked to think he and Jared were still friends and at the very least he worried about him because of Brady.  It was right on the tip of his tongue to invite Jared to stay for pizza when the lock turned in the door and Jared stepped away so it could open.

Justin stepped through with an arm full of bags and new highlights in his hair.  He looked surprised to see Jensen home so early and even more surprised when his eyes fell on Jared.  Justin made a show of sauntering over to press a lingering kiss to Jensen’s lips.  “Hi, babe,” he whispered.  Turning as if noticing him for the first time, Justin pasted on an overly-bright smile.  “Hi, Jared.”

Jared gave him a tight nod.  “Hello, Justin.  Good to see you.”  He looked at Jensen, his features shuttered.  “I should get going. Bray!”

Brady came bounding into the room and walked past Justin without a word.  Jared raised his eyebrows.  “Don’t be rude, Brady.”  He gave him The Look.

Sighing, Brady turned back to Justin.  “Hello, Justin.”

Justin reapplied his false enthusiasm.  “Hi, Brady!”

“It’s Brayden,” the boy corrected before turning back to his father.

Jared’s lips twitched in a way Jensen knew meant that he was holding back a smile.  “I gotta go, kiddo.”

“Okay, Daddy.”  Brady wrapped his arms around Jared’s neck as he bent down for quick hug.  “Be good, follow the rules, eat your vegetables,” Brady instructed, imitating Jared with an exaggerated stern expression.  He broke into a grin.  “And I will, too.  Love you…”

“…to Pluto and back, Bray. Always”.

Jensen couldn’t stop his cheesy grin if he tried, acutely aware of Justin watching them all.  He ruffled Brady’s hair.  “Dorks, both of you.”

As soon as the door closed behind Jared, Brady turned to Jensen.  “Did you order the pizza?”

Justin scrunched up his nose.  “Pizza?”

Brady nodded.  “Papa’s gonna order pizza for dinner.”

Leveling Jensen with a long look, Justin pressed. “Really?”  Justin didn’t eat pizza because he felt it was sloppy and fattening.

Jensen stared back.  “Yes, feel free to make yourself a salad if you don’t like it.”  Jensen knew it was the wrong thing to say, both still chafing after their conversation earlier in the day, but the last thing he felt like dealing with at the moment was Justin’s attitude.

Justin rolled his eyes, walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind him.  Jensen shrugged, he’d deal with him later.  He let Brady pick out the pizza and the two of them curled up in the living room watching Brady’s favorite movies.  Comfortable and relaxed with his son pressed into his side, Jensen allowed himself to just enjoy these precious moments and did his best to ignore Chris’ voice in his head asking just what the hell he was doing with his life.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The thought of Jared dating someone else still caused a knot the size of a coconut to settle in his gut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my mind, the OR looks like a slightly smaller version of QAF's Babylon.

Jensen unlocked the large wooden door to his childhood home and was immediately wrapped in the comforting smells of home – vanilla, lemon-scented cleaner, and the faintest hint of motor oil. The Ackles family residence was a comfortable size and had a tidy, yet pleasantly lived-in quality about it that always appealed to Jensen’s friends almost as much as his mother’s baking did. Jared always said he felt more at home in the Ackles’ house than he did in his own family’s palatial estate.

Brady immediately took off through the spacious living room towards the back of the house where his mother was undoubtedly flitting around the kitchen.

“Grammy!” Brady called, his enthusiasm barely contained. 

Jensen considered reminding Brady not to run in the house but changed his mind when he heard his mother answering, “Is that my Brady?” from the kitchen.

Judging by the irritated grunt at his shoulder, Justin did not approve of Brady’s antics or Jensen’s lack of response. Jensen shrugged and followed the voices into the kitchen.  
Donna Ackles already had Brady seated on a stool at the bar where the kitchen opened up to the family room, a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies and glass of milk in front of him. None of this surprised him, but the sight of Danneel Harris perched on a stool beside the boy did.

“Hey, Mama.” He kissed her cheek when she inclined her head expectantly.

“Hi, baby,” she replied warmly as Jensen went around to hug Danneel.

“Hey, Danny, how’s it going?”

Danneel smiled at him. They’d known each other since they were kids and his mom would baby sit her a few nights a week while her parents worked. Although, their parents originally dreamt of a romantic pairing, Jensen had dashed them by coming out shortly after entering high school. Over the years, she’d become another sister and she often still came around to visit with the family, her own parents long gone.

Justin cleared his throat awkwardly from the doorway of the kitchen. “Hi, Mrs. Ackles. Danneel.”

Donna had never warmed to Justin, but ever the classy lady, she gave him a polite smile. “Hi, Justin.”

Jensen eyed the large plate of cookies on the stove behind his mother. “Mama, I hope all those cookies aren’t for Brady. He’ll be bouncing off the walls for weeks to come. I’m sure Jared would love that.”

Rolling her eyes, Donna continued wiping down the counters while Danneel and Brady whispered and giggled together. “Don’t be silly, Jenny. Chris and Steve will be here any minute to drop Sully off. I’m keeping both boys tonight.” Her wide smile clearly stated that she found that to be a real treat. Arching her eyebrow, she continued sternly. “And probably well into tomorrow, if I know you boys as well as I think I do.”

Brady perked at the mention of his friend’s name. “I didn’t know Sully was coming!” His face broke into one of those wide, dimpled smiles that never failed to melt Jensen’s heart.

Danny glanced at her watch. “Yup, should be here any minute.”

“Are you staying too, Danny?” Brady asked, hopefully.

Nodding, Danny snatched a cookie from his plate. “You bet, mini man. I’m staying for dinner and games.”

“Games!” Brady enthused. “Grammy, what games? Can we watch movies, too? How late can we stay up? Sully will be so glad you’re staying, Danny. He thinks you’re pretty.” That slip seemed to bring the verbal vomit to a stop and Brady snapped his jaw shut so quickly that Jensen could hear his teeth click. His green eyes widened comically and a flush rose in his cheeks. “Please don’t tell Sully I told you! He’ll tell me something is under my bed!”

Three of the adults in the room laughed and assured Brady that his secret was safe. 

As Donna predicted, Steve and Chris arrived soon after with Sully, the two boys quickly becoming engrossed in a conversation with Danneel and ignoring the other adults. Steve and Chris rushed off to the OR to start setting up for the show and Jensen and Justin headed back to the condo to start getting ready.

J2J2J2

Walking into the Operating Room was a like entering another universe where being gay was not only accepted but widely encouraged. Jared had always described the downtown club as the most pleasantly queer place on earth (or at least what he’d seen of it). The large main room was made up mostly of the shiny black dance floor with a huge black-lit bar against the back wall. The flashing lights, thumping music, and beautiful grinding bodies had kept the boys hooked since their first night, standing on the upper level and watching it all with amazement. 

The club had a great long-standing DJ and the previous owner had only allowed live performances during special events, despite the years Kane spent begging. But the OR had been recently sold and the new owner apparently fully embraced the idea of having local talent perform a few songs. Jensen hadn’t met the guy yet but the guys seemed to think he was pretty cool.

When he and Justin entered the club, the music pulsed through his system and the multi-colored lights flashed across the dance floor and Jensen couldn’t help but smile. Some things never changed. He grabbed Justin’s hand and started parting the way through the crowd, pushing his way to the back. He spotted Chris and Steve at the bar, as expected. They always had a few drinks before performing. He was surprised to see Jared and Genevieve, one of his friends from work, had already joined them. Jensen felt Justin tense beside him but pulled the blonde along anyway.

“Hey, kids,” Jensen greeted the group. The members of the band greeted him with warm slaps on the back and good-natured ribbing. Jared smiled and nodded and Gen gave him a quick wave. Jensen forced himself not to pay attention to the way the deep v-neck of Jared’s shirt exposed the smooth expanse of his chest. It was hard to ignore the fact that the younger man had clearly lost some weight but he was still one of the most beautiful people Jensen had ever seen. 

He purposely turned his head to look at Chris and Steve. “Congrats, yall. This has been a long time coming.”

Chris grinned. “Thanks, boy, ‘ppreciate the support.” He leaned forward and placed a huge wet kiss on Jensen forehead and he knew just how buzzed Chris was.

Justin huffed, turning away to flag down the bartender. Steve chuckled and pulled Chris back against his chest. “Down, boy. You’re gonna make me think you still have that crush on Jen from 8th grade.”

Jensen snorted a laugh at the memory of Chris blushing and stuttering his way through confessing he thought Jensen was pretty. Jensen had snorted at him much the same way, for which Chris had punched him in the nose before running off. They hadn’t talked for two weeks until Chris called to say he thought the new guy, Steve, was pretty hot.

Chris blushed and glared at Jensen. “Better stop laughing before I put my fist through your face again.” He elbowed Steve in the side. “And you stop bringing it up, asshole! I was a confused kid!” Naturally, this only made them laugh harder.

“For fuck’s sake!” Justin griped when he returned with his drink. “This place can never manage to make a decent drink. How can they even serve this crap!”

His outburst brought a lull to the side conversations within the tight group, during which everyone stared at Justin, and Jensen since he was standing beside him.

“What!” Justin exclaimed. 

Jensen could see the icy retort building behind Chris’ sneer and was thinking of a way to diffuse the situation when Genevieve spoke up. “Hey, anyone heard from Mikey and Tom? They’re going to miss the performance if they don’t get here soon.”

Jensen threw her a look of gratitude while everyone else shook their heads and Jared frowned down at this phone. “I don’t have anything from them.” He bit his lip in worry and Jensen pried his eyes away from the sight. “Maybe I should call and make sure they’re alright.”

Steve shrugged. “I’m sure they’re fine, Jare. Rosey’s never been on time for a thing in his life.”

Jared nodded, though he still looked a bit unsure.

Justin, clearly bored with the conversation, wrapped an arm around Jensen’s waist. “Come on, let’s dance. I love this song!”

Jensen happened to know that Justin hated the song but he was too relieved that Justin was willing to do more than complain to say anything. Shrugging, he grabbed Chris’ drink out of his hand and downed the rest of it. He swallowed the bitter liquid and used the empty glass to give Chris a lazy salute before setting it down on the bar.

“Break a leg out there, boys. Make Jenny proud.” He smiled as he backed onto the dance floor, wagging his eyebrows ridiculously when Justin started grinding against him.  
Jensen lost himself in the moment through two songs. He allowed himself to just enjoy the music thrumming through him, the way his body instinctively knew how to react to the beat, the way Justin pressed impossibly close, the way the other dancers appeared to be connected through the universal thump. In that moment, Jensen understood exactly why he was with Justin. When the blonde looked into his eyes and smiled as their hips did a filthy, conjoined swivel Jensen felt his answer to Christian’s annoying question would still be the same. They had fun together.  
J2J2J2

Kane’s debut performance at the OR was largely well-received. Jensen and Justin watched from the middle of the dance floor while Chris poured his soul into the microphone with Steve and the rest of the band at his back. Jensen felt a swell of pride when he noticed some people in the crowd singing along. Kane was somewhat of a local sensation.  
When it was over, Jensen insisted they rejoin the group while they waited for Kane to finish up backstage. Jensen was glad to see that Mike and Tom had made it in and hadn’t missed seeing the boys on stage. He noticed that while they smiled and clapped along with everyone else, something seemed off about the couple. Jensen filed that away for the next time he was alone with them. But it wasn’t until his eyes fell on Jared that his breath caught in his throat.

Jared was smiling broadly and applauding with the last of the audience. His dimples pressed deeply into his cheeks and his color was high, tinging the skin a dusky pink. When the younger man turned in his direction, Jensen could see he had tears of pride in his eyes and was instantly reminded of the day Brady took his first tentative steps towards Jared’s outstretched arms. Jared had laughed while tears fell down his cheeks as he caught the chubby baby on his way to a tumble and Brady had laughed along with him. Jensen had thought the display of emotion to be incredibly silly at the time but now realized just how breathtakingly beautiful the moment had been.

Jensen shook himself out of his thoughts when Mike pulled him into a hug and Tom followed suit. It used to amaze Jensen how easily his and Jared’s respective groups of friends meshed together through the years. He no longer marveled at it but gratefully accepted the love and friendship for what it was. He pulled away from Tom and felt Justin shifting impatiently at his side. For the thousandth time he wondered when the other man would start fitting into his group.

“Babe, let’s dance,” Justin breathed into his ear.

Jensen shook his head. “I want to wait for the guys to come out so I can congratulate them.”

Jensen pursed his lips. “Any other time we’re hear I have to beg you to leave the dance floor.” He shook his head and crossed his arms. “I really can’t win with you.”

Sighing, Jensen leaved close so as not to draw attention to the conversation. “Jus, please, stop.”

The area around Justin’s eyes was pinched in a way that told Jensen he had no intention of dropping the issue, but Jensen was saved when the band started making their way over. The group spent a few minutes congratulating them before Jensen realized Chris wasn’t among them. Just as he was about to ask Steve about the other man’s whereabouts, Jensen spotted him pushing through the crowd with another man following close behind. The stranger was about their age with close-cropped dark hair and intense blue eyes. The tight black tee and dark jeans fully displayed the thick, well-honed muscles of his body and there was no denying that he was a really good-looking guy.

“Guys,” Chris called as he drew near. “Want yall to meet the guy that made this possible.” He slung an arm around the guy’s broad shoulders. “This is Stephen, the new owner.”  
Stephen smiled and nodded politely while Chris did the introductions. His eyes widened when Chris got to Jared, who was deep in an animated conversation with Gen and Mike and hadn’t been paying attention,

“JT?” Stephen stepped forward when Jared looked over in confusion. “It is you!”

Jared frowned and cocked his head to the side the way he always did when trying to figure something out. Jensen frowned, himself – no one had called Jared “JT” since high school, and even then it had only been his family.

“Stephen? Stephen Amell?” Jared questioned, breaking into a smile and pulling Stephen into a huge hug. 

The two pulled apart, still grinning at each other. Stephen gave Jared an appraising look from top to bottom and then back up. “You’ve grown.” 

Jared blushed and didn’t try to hide the way his eyes roamed over Stephen’s large arms and strong chest. “You, too.” Seeming to remember they had an audience, Jared took a small step back. “Man, it’s been forever. And you own the place, now?”

Stephen nodded and Mike seemed to be the first in their group to recover from the surprise. “Stephen?” He sounded the name out as if trying to remember something. “Wait, you’re Stephen?!”

Stephen smiled uncertainly. “You’ve heard of me?”

Mike snorted. “Are you kidding? When we were kids, Jared would come home from the lake every summer and talk about all of your adventures and pranks you pulled on little Meggie. Man, I’m a huge fan of your work.”

Laughing heartily, Stephen’s blue eyes twinkled and Jared smiled into them. Jensen felt his shoulders tense at the familiarity of the scene.

“So”, Steve began. “You want to clue the rest of us in on how you know each other?”

Jared responded. “Our lake houses were right next to each other so we basically spent every summer together until I started high school.” Stephen nodded his confirmation.  
This seemed to satisfy the group and everyone went on with their own conversations or out to the dance floor after agreeing that it was an interesting coincidence that the two would run into each other at the club after so much time. About that time, one of the club workers came up to tell Stephen that he was needed in the back and Jensen felt an unnatural wash of relief as he watched Stephen excused himself begin to walk away. But the other man turned and spoke to Jared.  
“We should get together and catch up. Soon. Dinner tomorrow night?”

Jared’s smile widened. “Definitely.”

“Okay if I get your number from Chris?”

Jared nodded and Stephen winked before turning to follow his employee. Jared turned back to his drink and Mike pounced on him without Tom there to tame him, the taller man having been persuaded to join Gen for a dance.

“So, he’s hot! You never mentioned he was so damn hot!” He started fanning himself in a fake swoon. “I bet he could toss me around just right with all those rippling muscles.” Jared laughed loudly and even Justin cracked a small smile, but Jensen was finding it difficult to force air in and out of his lungs as Mike continued. “And it seems that you, my tall furry friend, could have something that looks suspiciously like a date planned with him!”

Blushing again, Jared gave a small shake of his head. “I don’t know-”

Mike interrupted him. “He eye-fucked you Jared! I saw it, we all saw it. Chocolate-covered strawberries, foreplay, lube – the works. He wants you.” Frowning sternly, he wagged a finger in Jared’s face. “And I want details!”

Jensen ground his teeth so hard his jaw was beginning to ache. He’d heard just about as much as he could take. That damn Amell had no fucking right looking at Jared that way and asking him out right in Jensen’s face. He should have punched him right in the throat for that comment about how much Jared had grown. It was just like Mike said – Amell had eye-fucked Jared and everyone had seen. 

Jensen had just turned his head to glare in the direction that Stephen had gone when he caught sight of Justin watching him, eyebrow quirked. Suddenly, all the self-righteous anger fled from Jensen’s body and left him feeling empty and exhausted. In reality, Jensen was with Justin and no longer had any rights to concern himself with who Jared dated – except for where Brady was concerned. Jensen had made his decision a long time ago and he wasn’t sure why he’d had that little lapse. It wasn’t fair to expect Jared to stay single when Jensen had been in a relationship during most of their divorce. Although, he understood that logically, the thought of Jared dating someone else still caused a knot the size of a coconut to settle in his gut.

Gaze still on Jensen, Justin spoke slowly. “Jared, for what it’s worth, I think you and Stephen would make a really attractive couple.”

Mike rolled his eyes. “Yes, because we were all waiting on pins and needles to hear what you had to say about this. By all means, Jared, of course you can go now that you have Justin’s stamp of approval,” he said sarcastically. “Cut me a fucking break.”

Jared shushed Mike. Confused, he glanced between Jensen and Justin. “Uh, thanks, Justin. We’ll see what happens.”

Glaring at Justin, Jensen was back to grinding his teeth when the blonde only grinned back, unfazed by Mike’s mockery and clearly amused by his boyfriend’s displeasure. His goading expression seemed to ask “Is there a problem?” Which, of course, is exactly what Jensen was trying to figure out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Stephen Amell. Wasn't sure what you guys would think of him. Thoughts?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Although Stephen had clearly been flirting with him at the club, it was perfectly plausible that he just wanted to catch up with an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People! Sorry for the crazy delay! But thank you for staying with me on this.
> 
> Also, I did not do a good job proof-reading this, so please excuse my mistakes.

Jared was groaning before he was even fully awake.  The pounding headache and roiling nausea of his obvious hangover were unmistakable reminders of why it was a bad idea to try to match Mikey drink-for-drink. 

Jared was ready to let himself drift peacefully back into painless slumber when a drowsy sigh and slight shift in the bed alerted him to the fact that he wasn’t alone.  Freezing, Jared willed his sluggish mind to conjure up the end of the previous night in hopes of remembering with whom he’d agreed to share his bed.  For a moment, he wondered if it could be Jensen.  Feelings of fear and dread tumbled through him almost instantaneously and he clenched his jaw against the onslaught. 

But surely he’d remember falling into bed with his ex-husband?  Next, Jared considered the possibility that he’d allowed Mike to talk him into inviting Stephen home with him.  Jared shuddered in embarrassment at the thought of having slept with someone who was barely more than a stranger to him.  Jared had just convinced himself that he had no other choice but to face whatever consequences came for his actions the previous night when his unexpected bedmate spoke.

“Ugh, why do I do this to myself?” Mike mumbled and sluggishly turned his body to escape the sunlight streaming through the bedroom windows.

It suddenly came back to him – Mike, drunk and clingy, loudly insisting that it had been way too long since he and Jared had had a sleepover.  Tommy had looked as if he wanted to protest but Mike hadn’t given him or Jared the opportunity.  Not thinking anything of it the night before, in the light of day, even in his hungover state, Jared found Mike’s behavior a little strange.  And he vowed to force the smaller man to explain himself….as soon as he’d slept off his hangover a little bit more.

Jared would have glared at him if he had the energy.  “Why did I let you do this to me?”

“Please, there’s barely a scratch on you,” Mike insisted from somewhere under his pillow.  “Besides, you loved it.”

Jared ignored him and allowed himself to drift back to sleep.

Waking a few hours later, Jared forced an adorably sleepy Mike out of bed with the lore of scrambled eggs, bacon, and fresh coffee.  Once they’d finished eating, Jared figured it was time to get some answers.

Frowning, Jared leveled his long-time friend with a searching gaze.  “Seriously, Mikey, what’s going on with you and Tommy.  Ya’ll seem…tense.”

Scoffing lightly, Mike got up to refill his mug.  “Don’t be silly, we’re beautiful.”

Jared employed his Dad voice.  “Michael Rosenbaum.  Tell me the truth.”

Mike arched an eyebrow and returned to his seat.  “Don’t Dad voice me.”  He hazarded a glance at Jared’s concerned expression and immediately deflated.  Averting his gaze to study the grooves of the wooden table, he blinked rapidly.  “I’m scared, Jay.” His voice had lost all of its usual bravado.

Jared shook his head in confusion.  “Scared of what?”

Mike met his stare and Jared was surprised to find the gray orbs glistening.  “I feel like we’re falling apart.  I-”, he swallowed thickly.  “I’m gonna lose him.”

“What are you talking about?  Tommy loves you and you know that,” Jared insisted.

And that was the truth.  Mikey and Tommy were probably the most unlikely couple Jared had ever seen but they were also the most solid.  Tom put up with Mike’s ridiculous antics and Mike forced Tom to live more firmly in the moment.  The two complemented each other in a way Jared had always assumed was romance novel foolishness before witnessing it for himself.  That isn’t to say there hadn’t been issues – Jared had seen some knock-down drag-out fights between the two.  They usually surfaced when Tom felt like Mike was being too irresponsible and Mike felt like Tom wasn’t letting him live freely. 

Mike nodded as if to say that he knew what Jared was thinking.  “I know he loves me, completes me, etc.  But I don’t know if that’s going to be enough anymore.”

“What!” Jared exclaimed.  He couldn’t believe he was sitting there listening to his best friend speak about his marriage like it was coming to an end.

“What?” Mike questioned sharply, his expression darkening.  “Relationships end all the time, even relationships that people think are going to last forever.  You should know that better than anyone.”

Blanching at the dig, Jared leaned back in his chair as if he could somehow escape the painful words.  Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to let it go.  This was Mike’s MO – he sometimes lashed out in the hopes of avoiding situations that would leave him feeling emotionally exposed.  Jared had to push past that in order to help his friend.

“Stop it, Mikey,” he commanded softly and grabbed one of his hands.  “Don’t push me away.  Just tell me what’s going on.”

As quickly as it came, the fight left Mike, leaving him looking pale and small.  “We had a huge fight last night before we left for The OR.  Tom is ready to start a family, like really ready.  He wants me to get pregnant, Jay.  Sooner rather than later.”  His voice had slightly risen in panic towards the end.  “He threatened to throw away my birth control last night.”

“Oh,” was all Jared could manage to muster in response.

Mike had always talked about having children like it was something he would consider after he had done just about everything else in life.  He was great with kids and both Brady and Sully absolutely adored their Uncle Mikey but Mike always insisted he liked children best when he was giving them back to their parents. 

“Yeah, oh,” Mike responded flatly.

“But,” Jared began.  “I thought yall were on the same page about waiting.”

Mike shook his head.  “No, Tom was never happy about it.  I always suspected that you getting pregnant with Brady gave him baby fever.  He would have knocked me up after college if he had his way.  I convinced him that we should wait until we were settled into our careers.”

Jared refrained from pointing out that Mikey didn’t have a career to settle into.  “Well, is there any reason why you wouldn’t want to start now?”

Mike gaped at him as if he’d lost his mind.  “Of course there’s a reason!  I’m not ready!  I’m not like you, Jay!  I can’t raise a kid!”

Jared didn’t try to hold in his surprised chuckle.  “Are you forgetting that I was 18 when I had Brady?  I wasn’t ready and definitely had no idea what I was doing.  You learn on the job.”

“Speaking of jobs, I’ve never even have a job!” Mike continued ranting.  “I’ve never had to be responsible for a thing in my life,” Mike stressed.  “Remember Mr. Turtle?  How long did he last?”  He was referencing a pet turtle his grandparents had bought him his junior year of high school.  The turtle had mysteriously disappeared one night when the two of them had gotten high while Mike’s parents were away.

“First of all, Mr. Turtle is nothing like a baby.  And secondly, you don’t have a job by choice.  Your grandfather has all but begged you to join the family business.”

Mike’s family owned a chain of small casinos throughout the country and Mike had earned a degree in hospitality management to please them, though he claimed to have no interest or intention of working for his family.  The point was that Mike had never ended up going to work for anyone and had spent the four years since graduation doing anything he wanted.

Jared continued when Mike didn’t reply other than to begin biting on a thumbnail.  “Mikey, you know I love you, but I feel like you’re feeding me a bunch of bullshit.  You know that Tommy would be nothing but an attentive and supportive sap and the rest of us would do anything we could to help out.  So, I’m going to invite you now to tell me the real reason, or do I need to get Mama Ackles involved?”  He tossed in that last part to elicit a smile from his friend, and it had the desired effect, albeit small.

But Mike sobered quickly.  “You know I didn’t have the best example of a father figure growing up,” he said quietly.

If memory served him correctly, and Jared knew it did, Mike was putting it mildly.  Gregory Rosenbaum was a grade A abusive alcoholic who used his son as a punching bag because his wife was too afraid of him to stop it.  There had been countless occasions growing up – especially in high school – when Jared would force ice onto Mike’s bruised face and tuck him into a guest bedroom when his own house became unbearable.

Mike continued.  “Part of me is afraid that I’ll end up like him.  That it’s inevitable.  I wouldn’t be able to deal with myself if I did that to my kid.”

In that moment, Jared knew that Mikey was being completely honest with him.  He squeezed his friend’s hand.  “None of us would ever let that happen.  Plus,” he paused until Mike met his gaze. “You are nothing like him.  _Nothing_.”

There were tears on Mike’s cheeks at that point and he only nodded, clearly not trusting his voice.

“Have you told Tom that you’re worried about that?”

Shaking his head, Mike sniffled wetly.  “I’m afraid he’ll think it’s just another excuse.  Last night he said he’s starting to wonder if we’re just too different to make it work.”

“You have to talk to him.  He deserves to know where you’re coming from and you deserve to be understood.”

Mike was silent for a moment before finally nodding.  “I know.  I will.”

“Good, now,” Jared stood and spread his arms out wide.  “Bring it in.”

Groaning, Mike feigned reluctance.  “No way, Padalecki, you smell like last night’s poor choices and regrets.”

Jared laughed and pulled him up and into his arms.  Hugging his longest friend tightly, he could feel the tension slowly bleeding from his smaller frame.  They were just pulling away when Jared’s phone started vibrating on the counter.  He didn’t recognize the number but Jared had a habit of always answering the phone when Brady was away from home.

“Hello,” he answered while Mike busied himself with washing the breakfast dishes.

“JT?” Jared was surprised to hear Stephen’s voice on the other end of the line.  “I’m not calling too early, am I?”

“Stephen,” Jared breathed, which drew Mike’s attention away from the dishes.

“Stephen Amell?” He mouthed excitedly, and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“No, it isn’t too early,” Jared assured him, hoping there hadn’t been too long of a pause.  “What’s up?”

“Cool.  Well, I wanted to confirm that you’d be free for dinner tonight.  I’d love to catch up.”

Jared’s heart rate increased.  “Oh, dinner tonight,” he repeated for Mike’s benefit, making himself feel like an idiot.  Glancing away from where Mike was vigorously nodding his head.  “Tonight would be great.”

“Great – that’s great.”  Jared was relieved to hear Stephen sounding a little awkward as well.  “There’s a place downtown, _41 Guns_ , that’s supposed to have great steaks.  Sound good?”

Jared readily agreed.  He’d heard nothing but positive reviews on the place but hadn’t found the time to try it out for himself.  They made plans to meet there at 7 and ended the call shortly after.

Mike looked just about ready to burst when Jared hung up.

“Take a deep breath, Mikey.” Jared laughed at his expression.

“I’m sorry.  I’m just trying not to cum in your kitchen at the mental image of Stephen dressed up for a dinner date.  Fuck,” he moaned obscenely.  “Those muscles, Jay.  Do you think Tommy would mind if I tried out some of my yoga poses on Amell?”  Jared shuddered with a grimace and Mike dried with hands on the dish towel.  “Okay, new plan.  You go talk to Tommy about making a baby and I go out with Mr. Blue Eyes.”

Jared pretended to consider the suggestion.  “Yeah, not happening.”

Mike scowled.  “Fine.  But I get to dress you and do your hair.  You know I love to play Dress the Giant!”

Grabbing his shoulders, Jared steered Mike to the front door.  “You are going to home and talk to your husband.  And then maybe, if I’m lucky, you’ll start working on making me an uncle.”

Turning swiftly at the door, Mike poked him in the chest.  “Hey, bite your tongue!”  He leaned up to give Jared a quick peck on the lips.  “Thanks, Jay.  I love you, have fun, get laid.”

J2J2J2J2

Jared parked in one of the garages a few blocks from 41 Guns.  The weather was nice and relished the fresh air and the opportunity to gather his thoughts before he met up with Stephen.  He didn’t want to read too much into this dinner.  Although Stephen had clearly been flirting with him at the club, it was perfectly plausible that he just wanted to catch up with an old friend.  If Jared were honest with himself, he would admit that he wasn’t sure which of those two scenarios he hoped this was.  But Stephen didn’t know about everything that had happened in his life in the intervening years.  He might not want anything to do with Jared once he found out he was the divorced father of a six year old.

Too soon, he arrived at the double wooden doors of the restaurant and stood before them second-guessing his charcoal button down and dark-wash jeans.  He’d allowed his hair to air-dry into fluffy waves around his shoulders, hoping for a casual and laid-back without looking sloppy.

He gave Stephen’s name to the hostess and was immediately led back to where he was already seated.  Jared allowed himself to be distracted by the attractive décor and lighting that somehow managed to give the establishment a distinct upscale feel while maintaining a down-to-earth, relaxed atmosphere.  The table Stephen reserved was on the second floor beside a bank of huge windows with a gorgeous view of the river.  Stephen stood to hug Jared in greeting and he got a full view of the way the collared white shirt clung to his chest and the black jeans seemed to be poured onto his strong legs.  His deep, spicy cologne enveloped Jared along with his impressive arms.

“Glad you could make it.”  Stephen smiled as they took their seats.

Stephen’s smile was still just as infectious as Jared remembered and he met it with one of his own dimpled grins.  “I was glad you invited me.”

They made small talk while ordering drinks and deciding on their meals and Jared was pleased to find that none of the awkwardness he’d been dreading had surfaced thus far.  But he was dying to know more.

“So,” he began, leaving forward on his forearms when the waiter walked away with their orders.  “Tell me about adult Stephen.”

Stephen actually blushed and gave a shy smile.  “There isn’t too much to tell.  I went to work for my dad for a few years after school but I started to feel like I needed a change.  I mean, there’s only so much excitement you can get from being an accountant from an IT company.”

Jared laughed.  “Accounting?  Really?  That seems so…not you.”

Stephen shook his head with a wry smile.  “Exactly.  It was incredibly boing, but you know how practical my parents are.  They wanted me to have a nice, stable, predictable life.  I’m sure you can imagine their expressions when I told them I was moving to the city and buying a gay nightclub.  I mean, it had gotten to the point where every conversation with my mom ended with her asking when I was going to meet a nice young man and start giving her grandbabies.”  He shrugged.  “I had to shake things up.”

Jared couldn’t help but be reminded of his earlier conversation with Mike, but found himself chuckling.  “I’m sure that came as a complete shock.”

Nodding, Stephen sipped his beer.  “Oh, there is one other thing you should know,” he added, leaning forward with a conspiratorial whisper.

“What?”

“You completely broke my heart that summer you kissed me the night before you left and never came back.”

Jared sat shocked, unsure if Stephen was serious.  That wasn’t what he’d been expecting.  The first thing that came to mind was that if he remembered correctly, _Stephen_ had been the one to kiss _him_.  “Stephen…”

The other man leaned back with a small smile.  “I’m joking, JT.  Kind of.  I mean, I did always wonder what happened to you.”

Relieved, Jared shrugged.  “Well, that’s easy – Jensen happened.”

Stephen’s eyebrows drew together.  “Jensen?  Why does that sound familiar?”

“You met him last night,” Jared supplied and recognition dawned in Stephen’s eyes.  “I met him that school year and refused to go away again the following summer.”

“Oh,” Jared wondered if he detected a hint of disappointment in Stephen’s tone of if he was imagining it.  “So, you and Jensen…”

“Yeah,” Jared confirmed.  He wasn’t sure how much he wanted to get into this.  “We got married after I got pregnant senior year.”  He watched Stephen’s eyes automatically drop down to his left hand gripping his beer.  “And divorced last year.”

“Wow.  You’ve had quite a bit more excitement than I have.  So, you have a-” He did the calculation.  “A six year old.”

Jared nodded. “Yeah, a son – Brady.  He’s amazing.” He couldn’t stop the adoration that always seeped into his voice whenever he spoke about his son.

Stephen gave him a small smile, fondness evident.  “I’m not surprised.”  Jared blushed at the implied compliment.  “What did your parents have to say?”

“They were furious.  Having a gay son was relatively trendy around that time but a pregnant, unwed son was bound to make their friends at the country club uncomfortable.  They insisted I get an abortion, and when I refused, they cut me out of their lives.”

Stephen shook his head in disbelief.  “That’s unbelievable.  But, knowing them, it doesn’t surprise me.  What about Jeff and Meg?”

Jared shrugged.  “Jeff always shared their view that Jensen was beneath us so having his baby was unforgiveable.  And Meg was too young to know what was going on at the time, and from what I hear, she’s too self-centered to care now.”

“Shit, JT,” Stephen reached for his hand and Jared squeezed back.  “That really sucks.”

For a moment, Jared got lost in the sincerity and intensity of Steven’s gaze, broken only by the arrival of their food.

Conversation through the rest of dinner didn’t stray from safer topics.  They reminisced about old times at the lab, Jared shared some of the amusing stories involving his group of friends, and told Stephen about some of the unbelievable things he’d witnessed at the OR over the years.  Jared was relieved that Stephen hadn’t pushed for more information on his relationship with Jensen and he found himself having a lot more fun than he’d anticipated.  Stephen insisted on walking Jared back to the garage where he had parked his car, even though his own was in the opposite direction.  Jared was slightly embarrassed by the gesture but didn’t necessarily dislike it.

“Well, this is me,” Jared said when they reached his car, feeling a little awkward.

Stephen leaned lightly against the driver side door, effectively blocking Jared from leaving.  “I had a really good time, JT.”

“I did, too.  I really enjoyed myself.”

“So, would you be open to doing it again?”

Jared nodded and hoped he didn’t seem too eager.  “Yes, I’d definitely like that.”

Stephen’s eyes suddenly dropped down to Jared’s lips where they were curved into a smile.  “JT, stop me if I’m way off base here.”  He paused to lick his own lips, drawing Jared’s attention.  “I really want to kiss you right now.  You’ve got to tell me if that’s not something you want.”

Even if it wasn’t something Jared had been thinking about since they left the restaurant, he couldn’t have expressed that – he was too stunned to speak.  But he didn’t want to stop him.  Stephen’s broad palm came up to cup Jared’s cheek and he found his eyes fluttering shut on their own volition.  The gentle press of Stephen’s lips to his was unfamiliar but pleasant.  Jared tentatively parted his lips and the other man immediately accepted the invitation to deepen the kiss, his tongue brushing softly against Jared’s bottom lip.

They smiled at each other when they pulled away and Stephen leaned in for another quick peck.

“I’ll call you to set up a day and time.”

Jared nodded his agreement, suddenly feeling foolishly bashful.

“Bye, JT.”  Stephen left him with a playful wink.

Jared’s fingers brushed over his tingling bottom lip before he sank into the driver’s seat with a dreamy sigh and goofy grin.  He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this way.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think. Hugs and kisses.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things were changing. And Jensen didn’t do well with change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi All! I know - shamefully long time since my last update. My apologies. RL does get in the way. And sometimes it really does just take a longer than it used to to figure out where I want to take a story next. Thank you for all who have continued to stick with this since the beginning and thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read this far.
> 
> In other news, let me apologize ahead of time for how outrageous Mike is.

“Do you really think it’s getting that serious?” Steve questioned, clearly surprised.

Mike nodded.  “I know it.  They’ve been out every weekend that Jay doesn’t have Brady.”

Chris’ eyebrows were almost touching his hairline when he gave a low whistle.  “Damn, someone is wooing the shit out of our boy.”

Mike nodded again, looking just like the cat who’d gotten into the cream. “And I’m loving every minute of it!”

Jensen gritted his teeth to keep from growling.  This was the last thing he wanted to hear after the month he just had.  One of Beaver Properties’ major multiple snags with approvals that resulted in a huge deviation from the project timeline.  Jensen had been working ridiculous hours along with his team to get things back on track.  His relationship with Justin had definitely suffered due to his distraction and Jensen had no defense when Justin complained that they were nothing more than roommates.  Worse yet, Jensen had even been forced to forfeit one of his weeks with Brady during the worst of it.  Finally, the team got the necessary approvals and the project was moving forward, so Jensen was unspeakably grateful when Chris called up demanding that Jensen join the group for a few drinks at one of their favorite sports bars.  So, the last thing Jensen needed was to know that Jared had been seeing Amell regularly, or deal with that his feelings about that meant.

Tom, ever the voice of reason, jumped into the conversation.  “Guys, stop talking about him when he isn’t here.  Once they get here, you can ask all the questions you want.”

Jensen’s head snapped up from where he had been glaring at his beer, and Justin sat up a little straighter at his side.  “Jared is bringing Stephen?” Justin asked with something that sounded a little like excitement in his voice.

Rolling his eyes, Mike pursed his lips.  “Your dumbass dye job must be seeping into your brain.  Isn’t that what Tommy _just_ said”

Jensen sighed.  “Rosey, chill, man.”

“I’m just saying, Jen.” Mike continued.  “The bleach-blonde airhead routine went out of style with Paris Hilton.”

Steve shook his head, wanting to keep the peace, but Chris made no attempt at hiding his amusement.

With a haughty huff, Justin began shoving his way out of the booth. “If you’re going to let your _friends”_ \- he said the word with a disgusted sneer.  “Speak to me that way then there’s no way I’m sitting here through hours of your boring, unintelligible conversation.”  He stomped off toward the bar’s exit.

Chris lost what composure he had, threw his head back and howled with laughter.  Steve elbowed him in the side but that only made him laugh harder.

Jensen downed the last of his beer and rose from his seat with huge sigh.  Better to get this over with and go after Justin as expected than wait until they got home.  Justin with an attitude was not Jensen’s idea of a good time.

“Really, guys?”  He addressed his smirking friends.  “It’s been a hell of a month so can we please keep our claws retracted?  Assholes,” he threw in for good measure before turning in the direction Justin had flounced moments before.

He found Justin just outside the front door, arms folded and deep scowl firmly in place.  Jensen signed again.  “Justin, come back inside.”

Justin pretended not to hear him but gave himself away by turning his head in the opposite direction.  Jensen stepped around to face him.  “What – are you going to stand out here all night?”

Justin turned tuned flashing eyes to his boyfriend.  “Wait outside?  No!  My boyfriend is going to realize that his friends are jerks and he’s going to take me home!”

Appealing to Justin’s mature side, Jensen took his hands.  “Please, Jus, you know how much I’ve been looking forward to spending time with the guys.  I’ll make sure they behave promise.” 

Justin snatched his hands away.  “You shouldn’t have to make sure they behave.  You shouldn’t tolerate them treating me that way!  Why don’t you get that, Jensen?”  Justin’s voice had risen to a shout by the end.

The bitch of it was that Jensen knew that Justin had a point.  His group of friends had never warmed to Justin just as there was no love lost between Jensen and Justin’s group of superficial friends.  The difference was that Jensen didn’t insist on tagging along when Justin spent time with his friends – in fact, he made his best effort to be in their presence as little as possible.  Justin, however, clearly wanted to be a part of The Group – it almost felt like he wanted to be able to fit neatly into the space he liked to think Jared had vacated. Jensen had been unsuccessful in helping him understand that he would likely never be close to his friends.  But it was true that Jensen shouldn’t allow Mike and Tom to tease Justin so much 0 it only added fuel to the fire of their awkward situation.

Rubbing his eyes wearily, Jensen took a deep breath.  “You’re right, babe.  I’m sorry.”  He continued when he saw some of the wind slowly starting to leave Justin’s sails.  “I’ll make sure the guys lay off.”  Taking a tentative step forward, he took Justin’s hand again.  “Now, can we please go back inside and have a couple of drinks and try to enjoy ourselves?”

Before Justin could respond, a voice called out to them that made Jensen’s heart skip.  “Hi Jen, Justin.”

They both turned to see Jared strolling up to them from the parking lot.  He looked amazing with his blue jeans slung low on his hips and a black Henley clinging to the shoulders.  His hair fell in fluffy waves the way it always did when he let it air dry after a shower. The only glaring blemish that Jensen could find was the fact that he clearly wasn’t alone.  Stephen Amell was walking beside Jared with his own hand wrapped tightly around Jared’s long fingers.  They looked entirely too close and entirely too comfortable.

Justin brightened instantly as if he hadn’t just been shouting.  “Hi Jared.  Stephen, good to see you again.”  He smiled and glanced between the two of them.  “Especially together.”  Jensen certainly did not share his sentiments. 

Stephen took Justin’s strange behavior in good nature.  “Thanks, man.”  And the group lapsed into a somewhat awkward silence during which Jensen could not take his eyes off their clasped hands.

Jared cleared his throat uncomfortably.  “The rest of the guys already inside?”

Jensen knew the question was directed at him but Justin answered for him.  “Sure are.  We were just on our way back in, as well.”  This was news to Jensen and he would have counted it as a victory if Jared and Stephen weren’t holding hands like some high school romantic drama from the 90s.

Jared disentangled his hand from Stephen’s and Jensen felt something loosen in his chest.  “You guys go on ahead.  I need to borrow Jensen for a sec.”  This was even _more_ news to Jensen and Justin clearly was not pleased if the slight narrowing of his eyes was any indication.  But Stephen seemed completely unfazed so Jensen guessed that whatever Jared wanted he had already discussed with Stephen.  Which kind of made Jensen want to hit something.

Jared looked nervous once they were alone outside.  Fuck, he was going to need a drink for this.

“Am I going to need a drink for this?” Jensen figured he might as well prepare himself.

Chuckling softly, Jared pushed his hair back with one hand – yup, definitely nervous.  “No, I think you’ll be able to manage without one.  I’ve been wanting to talk to you but you’ve been so busy lately…” He trailed off as if that was all he had planned, but then took a deep breath and continued.  “Stephen and I have been seeing a lot of each other.  And I think it’s getting pretty serious.  I’m thinking it’s probably time that he and Brady meet each other.”

Jensen saw red.  He was so inexplicably angry that he actually had to count to ten to keep from ramming his fist into the red brick of the bar’s exterior wall.  Of all the things Jared needed to discuss with him, the fact that he was getting hot and heavy with Amell was the last thing he expected and the _last_ thing he wanted to hear. 

“Why the fuck are you telling me this?” Jensen growled through clenched teeth.  Jared looked startled by his tone and that was fair because Jensen had never spoken to him that way.  Not even back in high school when he thought Jared was cheating on him with the captain of the football team.

“Jen-”, he began but Jensen cut him off.

“Absolutely not,” He blurted out before he realized he was going to speak again.  Jared blinked at him for a brief moment, clearly not expecting that any more than Jensen had.

“What do you mean?”

He wasn’t sure why he was feeling such a sudden and irrational flood of anger but it was all-consuming.  “Exactly what said.  You want to date Amell that’s your business but leave my son out of it.  You barely know that guy.”  Even Jensen could hear how ridiculous he sounded but just couldn’t get his mind to move past the fact that Jared was trying to insert Amell into his life.

“Your son?” Jared repeated in wonder.  He looked genuinely bewildered and lost by the exchange, like he wasn’t sure what part of the conversation he should address first.  “What are you talking about?  I’ve known him since he we were kids.”

“And you’ve known him for a month as an adult, and you want to bring him around Brady.”

He could see that Jared was starting to get pissed by the read splotches forming on his high cheekbones.  “Stop saying that like I’m carelessly putting him in danger!  I know what I’m doing!”  Jared’s voice had risen and Jensen allowed his own to do the same.

“I don’t care – it’s not happening,” he shouted with what he hoped was finality.  Fuck, why couldn’t he just have a peaceful and relaxing evening out with some friends without a bunch of drama?  Now that this issue was settled he was ready to get back inside and this time he would be ordering something much stronger than a beer.

But Jared caught him off guard for the second time that evening.  “You’re a jerk, Jensen.  I’m trying to give you the courtesy and respect that you _didn’t_ give me when you moved your boyfriend into your condo and our son’s life.  As Brady’s parent I wanted to give you a heads and discuss this with you like rational adults.  But if you’re going to be an asshole, then I’m _telling_ you that it’s going to happen whether you like it or not.”

Jensen wanted to argue, he wanted to shout and make Jared see this his way.  And he would have if he had any real argument behind which to stand.  But if he was honest with himself, everything Jared said made sense conceptually but Jensen didn’t want to just roll over and accept the idea that another man would be in Brady’s life. Or Jared’s, for that matter, but he definitely wasn’t going to think about what that meant.

Taking advantage of Jensen’s silence, Jared continued, tone subdued.  “Do you have something against Stephen, in particular or would we be having this same conversation about anyone?” He took a huge breath and ran both hands through his hair.  “I don’t know, Jen.  It’s almost like you don’t want to me to move on.”

Attempting to hide how dangerously close to the truth Jared may have come, Jensen rolled his eyes.  “Come on, Jay.  That’s not it.” He looked out to the busy road beyond the parking lot to gather his thoughts before continuing.  “You know I’ve never been good with change.”  He shrugged.  “But it is what it is – you do what you gotta do.”

Jared regarded him silently for a moment before shaking his head, looking somewhat deflated.  “Okay.” He looked Jensen in the eye and the older man couldn’t help but feel as this was an important juncture.  Something was shifting between the two of them and he knew he couldn’t articulate it at that moment but it didn’t feel right. He wanted to say something to reverse the damage – because it did feel like damage – but everything felt it was happening way too fast and strangely slow at the same time.  Jared saved him from having to make sense of it.  “I’m going to head in.  You coming?”

“Yeah.”  What the hell – the night probably couldn’t get much worse.

Conversation came to a screeching halt when they approached the booth.  Their friends regarded them unblinkingly with varying levels of discretion while Stephen and Justin watched them curiously.  Mike, unsurprisingly, was the first to break the silence.

“Well it doesn’t look like you two drama queens were out there scratching each other’s eyes out or sucking face so I’m already bored with you.  Sit down and drink up.”

Despite Jensen’s glare, Mike had managed to break the awkward lull in activity.  Jared slid into a chair beside Stephen and gave Mike a small grin.  “Drama queens?  Let’s not forget who threatened to never show his face in school again when his little RuPaul cosplay pictures got leaked.”

This caused the group to roar with laughter at the memory. 

“Shit,” Chris shook his head, still chuckling.  “I had forgotten about that.  I thought I was going to have to cut all ties, Rosey.”

Mike dramatically flipped his curtain of long, imaginary hair. “Fuck you all. You’re just jealous that my big strong man broke the noses of every homophobic prick who had something negative to say.”

“We _all_ had something negative to say,” Jensen interjected.  “Your wig clashed with your leather catsuit.”

Stephen smiled at their banter.  “It sounds like you all had some pretty crazy times.”

Tom gave a long-suffering sigh.  “You don’t know the half of it.  Sometimes I ask why I had to get stuck with this band of misfits.”

“How did you all come together, anyway?”

“Well, you know me and Mikey have known each other since we were babies.  I used to talk about him at the lake all the time,” Jared answered.  Stephen nodded his agreement.

“And I met JennyBean in elementary school when he waited too long to go to the bathroom and peed his pants,” Chris said.  “Me, bleeding heart that I am, offered to let him wear mine. For some reason, the teacher objected.”

Jensen waited until the laughter died down.  “Yeah, how gracious of you.  You offered after you spent 30 minutes laughing along with the rest of the class.”

Chris grinned.  “We’ve been inseparable ever since.”  He turned to Steve.  “And Steve made our duo a trio in middle school.”

Steve smirked.  “And he’d worked his way into my pants by freshman year.”  To which Chris made a show of puffing out his chest.

Tom took his turn then.  “Jared and I were on the basketball team together and he begged me to tutor his friend who was failing pre-calc.  After the first time, I refused to do it again because he was so annoying.”  He gave Mike a fond smile.  “But I guess he eventually wore me down.”

“Or you just have a thing for skinny white boys dressed in bad drag,” Chris quipped.

Mike graced him with a short scathing look.  “And obviously,” he intoned with a dramatic flourish.  “We all came together to form this big fat queer family in the beginning of the epically romantic tragedy that is and was Jensen and Jared, the likes of which can be rivaled only by such classics like Romeo and Juliet and Brokeback Mountain.”

“Mikey…” Tom warned while Chris cackled and insisted they get Mike drug tested.

Mike protested indignantly. “What! He asked how we all ended up together, didn’t he?” He turned to Stephen.  “Didn’t you?”

Stephen hesitated, sensing the tension coming from those slightly more sober than Chris and Mike.  “I did…”

“Well,” Justin spoke up for the first time in a while.  Jensen was surprised to realize that he had actually forgotten the other man was even there.  And he could tell from the unusually high volume to his voice that Justin had been drinking more than Jensen noticed.  “I don’t know if anyone has any interest in how Jensen and I got together-”

“Not bloody likely!” Mike butt in with his poor attempt at a British accent.

Justin continued as if he hadn’t heard him.  “But it’s quite a steamy tale.”

Jensen contemplating just banging his head against the table repeatedly and putting himself out of his misery.  “Justin, I really don’t think-”

“No, no!” Mike interrupted and Jensen was really going to hit him the next time it happened. He would deal with Tom afterwards.  “Now that I think about it, I don’t remember ever getting the story on how you two crazy kids ended up together.  For once, I’m actually interested in what Justin has to say.”

Steve and Tom shared an apprehensive look and Jared appeared to be willing himself away to any other place and time.  Jensen couldn’t blame any of them – he certainly didn’t want to sit and listen to Justin talk about how he spent the entire duration of their project doing absolutely anything to get Jensen’s attention.  He imagined that they felt the same way.  But clearly, despite their dislike for each other, drunken Mike and Justin were a dangerous pair.

“Jensen’s company was building a new hotel in LA for my family.  I’m sure if you’ve been to any major city you’ve seen a Hartley Hotel – you usually can’t miss ‘em.”  And now Jensen knew Justin had managed to get shitfaced any time his cultured tongue was turning phrases like “miss ‘em”.  “Anyway, he was out west for the week to check on the project and-“

Wait a damn minute! “Justin!” Jensen hissed to shut him the fuck up.

Mike frowned at him.  “Jensen, let him speak.”

“Yeah,” Chris agreed, eyes slightly narrowed in suspicion.  “Let him finish.”

Justin shot Jensen a puzzled look before continuing.  He smiled at the memory.  “I talked him into dinner and a couple of drinks and insisted on walking him up to his room.  Like the perfect gentleman.  And you know what he did?”  He didn’t wait for anyone to respond. “He grabbed me by my collar and kissed me like no one ever had before.  I mean, I was down on my knees in record time.  I was this close-” he demonstrated with his thumb and forefinger. “To giving him the blowjob of his life when he told me we had to stop.  But I didn’t mind because by that point I knew I had him hooked.” He finished with a shrug and wide smile on his face as he glanced over at Jensen, probably expecting him to have one too.

“You son of a bitch!” Chris exploded and made a move to lunge at Jensen across the table. If it weren’t for Steve and Tom’s quick reflexes, he probably would have landed at least one solid punch, even in his intoxicated state.  “You lying son of a bitch!”

“Hey, stop it.  Chris, calm down.”  Steve tried to get him to sit back down before the attracted too much attention.

Chris wanted no parts of it and he tried to shake off both their hands.  “Fuck that shit!”  He glared back at Jensen.  “You said nothing happened! You told us all to our faces that nothing happened between the two of you! That you left Jared because you just weren’t happy anymore.”

The rest of the group had been quiet since Chris’ outburst.  Mike and Stephen looked stunned, Justin looked confused and he wasn’t sure how Jared looked.  For the first time since he’d known the younger man, his expression was unreadable to Jensen.  Steve and Tom were looking at him obvious disappointment.  Jensen was looking for some way to address Chris and hopefully defuse the situation when Jared beat him to it.

“Chris, relax.” Chris looked at him like he had two heads.  “Seriously, sit down.  It doesn’t matter.”

“It doesn’t?” Mike asked, clearly taken aback by Jared’s nonchalance.  Jensen had to agree with him but at least Chris, Steve, and Tom were finally sitting back down, although it was obvious Chris was still contemplating connecting fist to face.

“No, it doesn’t.” He swallowed thickly before turning his stony face to Jensen and grabbing Stephen’s hand from the table.  “It’s in the past.”

Jensen could see Stephen squeeze Jared’s hand in silent support and the two shared a meaningful look.  Now, Jensen was ready to punch someone.

“Shiiiiit,” Mike drawled.  “If it was me, someone would be losing their dick.” He gave Jensen a pointed look, then shifted his eyes to Justin.  “Then someone else would be losing a tongue.”

“See Jensen!” Justin whined loudly as if they weren’t right next to each other.  As if he hadn’t said enough already.  “We can’t ever have a good time with your friends.  I tried to join in the conversation and now everyone’s fighting!” He put his head in his hands and pouted.  “I think I drank too much.”

Jensen refrained for pointing how that he was realizing this way too little too late.  “Yeah, we’re leaving.”  He dragged his boyfriend out of his seat and Justin sagged against him.  He was going to be appalled if he remembered any of this in the morning.

“Woooow.” Mike said, shaking his head at them both.

“Really, Jensen?” Chris questioned incredulously. “You’re just leaving?  No explanation?  Very big of you.”

“I can’t talk to you when you’re pissed like this,” Jensen said, feeling his temper rising to the bait.

Tom – _finally_ \- stepped in with a piece of his infinite wisdom.  “Jen’s right.  We’ve all had a long day.  We’ve all had a lot to drink.  And this is really something that’s between Jensen and Jared.  It has nothing to do with us.”

“Agreed.” Jared addressed the table. “And I don’t want to talk about it. So can we _please_ stop?”

Chris caught Jensen’s eye.  “Expect a phone call from me, Jensen.”

Jensen gave him a curt nod and everyone said stilted goodbyes.  It was clear that the night was shot to hell and the rest of the group would be disbanding momentarily.  Jensen supported a quiet Justin out to the car and had no idea how he managed to get them back to the condo without wrecking the car.  Reeling from the events of the night, Jensen felt like he had just witnessed an episode in someone else’s life.  He replayed the entire night in his mind while situating an already snoring Justin into bed and depositing the bathroom trashcan beside his head. 

Not bothering to remove his own clothes before falling into bed, he looked over at his sleeping boyfriend and wanted to be angry with him.  If Justin wasn’t passed out, Jensen probably would have argued with him until he ran out of steam.  He’d been outed as a cheater and a liar to his closest friends, but deep down he knew that Justin hadn’t done so maliciously.  Justin had drank too much and shot off at the mouth; they’d all done it at one point or another.  Chris and Jensen had known each other long enough for Jensen to understand that his next conversation with Chris would be loud and ugly and blow over quickly.  Mike would store the information away to use as ammunition at a later date.  Tom and Steve would speak quietly and individually with him about the fact that he could have talked to them and told them the truth. 

But Jared.  Thinking about Jared left him confused and disturbed.  The image of the younger man telling him he was moving forward with his relationship with Stephen regardless of Jensen’s feelings. The image of his and Stephen’s fingers intertwined while he talked about his relationship with Jensen being in the past.  They played on an endless loop in Jensen’s head and sleep effectively eluded him. 

Things were changing.  And Jensen didn’t do well with change.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, feedback welcome. It's like Jared in a manbun.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm back! We haven't spent much time with Brady so he's a pretty big part of this chapter. I hope you like it.  
> Thank you to EVERYONE who has taken the time to read this story and to leave feedback in the form of kudos or comments. Much appreciated.

Jared closed his eyes and leaned against the passenger side window, allowing the glass to cool his flaming cheeks.  Stephen seemed content to let him gather his thoughts during the drive out of the city and Jared found himself thinking for the umpteenth time that night of how grateful he was for Stephen.  His constant presence had grounded Jared during the most awful moments when Jared felt like one wrong breath would send him flying apart in a million pieces.

And that was how it had been since their first date.  Stephen challenged Jared to step outside of his comfort zone of work-Brady-cook-clean-sleep-rinse-repeat.  He made Jared want to try new things and stood beside him through the experience.  The weekend before, Stephen had reserved a private table on the city’s famous river yacht despite Jared’s loud protests that he hated all boats.  Stephen had promised that he would be with him the entire time and that he was guaranteed to have a good time.  They shared a simple, yet elegant dinner, sipped expensive whine, and watched the sun set from the top deck.  It had been an incredibly romantic evening, and when Jared thanked him for it, Stephen had simply smiled and kissed him thoroughly.

When Jared broached the subject of introducing Stephen to Brady, the other man had been enthusiastic and truly honored.  Jared confessed to being slightly nervous about speaking with Jensen about it but Stephen had given him the pep talk he needed to go through with it that night.  He never would have imagined that Jensen would react the way he had.

A warm hand falling to his thigh pulled Jared from his thoughts.  It was then that he realized they had pulled into his driveway behind Genevieve’s sedan.

“You okay?” Stephen’s brow was furrowed with concern.  “Tonight was…” He paused in search of the right word.  “Intense.”

Jared gave a soft chuckle.  “To put it politely.  I’m sorry about that, by the way.”

“Please, that was nothing.  Still didn’t answer my question, though.”

Sighing, Jared gave a small nod.  “I’m okay.  It’s hard…”  He reached down to cover Stephen’s hand with his own.  “But I meant what I said in there.  It’s in the past and it shouldn’t matter.  And I definitely want you to meet Brady.”

Stephen smiled at him again, his clear blue eyes sparking.  He leaned across the seat and Jared’s heart sped up when their lips softly came together.  He signed at the now-familiar sensation of Stephen’s slight scruff tickling his mouth as the kiss deepened and he angled his head to allow better access.  Stephen’s thumb rubbed slow circles on his thigh and Jared pressed himself as close as possible to the other man’s solid bulk.  They had been taking things very slowly, really hadn’t don’t more than make out with some light petting.  And Jared was grateful for the unhurried pace as it gave him an opportunity to adjust to the idea of kissing someone other than his ex-husband.  But he had to admit that the more time they spent together, the more eagerness he felt to further explore their physical connection.

Jared wanted to sink further into the kiss and feel Stephen’s arms wrapped around him but the angle was awkward in the car and the both pulled away reluctantly.  Stephen’s eyes were locked on Jared’s mouth and he swiped his thumb lightly across his bottom lip, causing a shudder and moan to work their way through Jared’s body without his authorization.  Stephen smirked before pulling back.

“So, when am I meeting the infamous Brady Ackles?”

Jared took a moment to compose himself and bring his mind back to G-rated subjects.  “Well he goes back to Jensen Sunday night.  I kind of want to spend the day with him tomorrow, broach the subject and get a sense of how he feels.  Maybe we could get together Sunday?  If you don’t have plans,” he added with a shy smile.

“Are you kidding?  Even if I had plans I would change them.  Sunday is good and I know just what we’ll do.”

“Really? What?”

Stephen shook his head.  “It’s a surprise.  Just make sure you both wear comfortable athletic clothes.”

Jared agreed and they shared a quick kiss before he went inside to relieve Jen of her babysitting duties.  He found her on the living room sofa with the TV tuned to a viral video show.

“Oh, here he is,” she spoke into her phone when he came in and hung up his jacket.  “I’ll call you later.”

She followed him into the kitchen.  “I just got off the phone with Mike.  Did all that really happen?”

Jared rolled his eyes.  “He literally has the biggest mouth on this side of the Mississippi.”

Gen shrugged and leaned against the counter.  “Guess that’s how he keeps Tom happy.  But, seriously, the drama was legit?”

“Unfortunately.”

Damn!” She exclaimed.  “The one time I spend a nice evening with a gentleman, my fiends go out and shoot their own episode of Queer Housewives of Copper Bay.”

Jared laughed and she gaped at him.  “How can you be so relaxed about this?  Jensen cheated on you, right?  I understood that correctly?”

“Yes, so it would seem.”

Gen’s eyebrows inched upward.  “And you’re cool as a cup of water because….?”

Jared rubbed a hand over his face in a move he immediately recognized as one of Jensen’s tells.  “Gen…I’m just tired of being sad over Jensen.  I want to move on with my life.”

Nodding, Gen gave him a kiss on the cheek.  “And you deserve that.  Especially with someone as steaming hot as Stephen.” She turned to gather her things.  “You should get some sleep – Brady will be up before you know it.”

After seeing her to the door, Jared slowly carried his exhausted body up to his room.  He mulled over the surreal events of the night and could hardly believe that this was his life.  He’d found out his ex-husband had nearly gotten his brained sucked out through his dick while he was still his current husband.  And then their mutual friend had almost knocked Jensen’s head off.  It was a wonder Stephen hadn’t dropped Jared off at the end of the night and politely told him to lose his number.  It was an awful lot of drama to ask someone to subject themselves to.

\--J2J2J2—

“Daddy! Daddy”

Jared woke to his bed jostling around as Brady’s small body bounced beside him.  He smiled and blinked the sleep from his eyes.

“Who’s this in my bed trying to wake me up?”  Brady scrambled around in an attempt to hide beneath the comforter. “Whoever it is must want to wake up the tickle monster!”  He grabbed him and pulled the wiggling body in close.

Brady squirmed around and squealed as Jared tickled his ribs.  “Daddy! Stop, silly! It’s time for breakfast!”

Jared ended the tickle session and stretched with a huge yawn.  “So, what are you making me this morning? Pancakes? Scrambled eggs?  Bacon?”

Shaking his head, Brady climbed down from the bed and headed for the door.  “You know I’m too young to cook.  Daddy, can we have pancakes?”

“Pancakes it is, kiddo.  I’ll meet you downstairs in five minutes.”

Jared lay back and listened to Brady’s little feet pounding down the stairs.  The sunlight streaming in between the blinds of his corner windows warmed his face and Jared felt a smile tugging at his lips.  This would be a good day.  There were no plans or commitments, no difficult feelings or confrontations, or awkward moments – just a nice quiet day with one of his favorite people in the world.  Jared just had to figure out the right way to speak to Brady about Stephen, but he wasn’t really worried about it.  If Brady wasn’t cool with it, then it wouldn’t happen – it was as simple as that to Jared.

Rolling out of bed, Jared brushed his teeth and washed his face before heading downstairs where Brady was already curled up on the sofa watching a rerun of the Amazing World of Gumball.  Jared ruffled his hair on the way to the kitchen to start in on breakfast.  He was mixing pancake batter when his phone started buzzing on the kitchen counter to the tune of “Coin Operated Boy” by the Dresdon Dolls.

“What’s up, Mikey,” he answered and tucked the phone between his ear and shoulder to continue mixing.

There was a short pause on the other end of the line and Jared almost pulled his phone away to check if the call had been dropped.

“It’s Tom, Jay.”

“Oh, hey, Tommy.  Why are you calling from Mikey’s phone?” Jared pulled out his pancake griddle – one of his favorite thrift store finds.

Tom huffed.  “His drunk ass spilled water all over it last night when we got home.  I have to replace it later.  But I wanted to check on you after everything that happened last night…”  He trailed off as if he didn’t know what else to say.

Jared rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to sigh heavily.  “I’m fine.  Tell everyone that I’m fine.  Since I’m sure you’re all going to be talking about it today.”  The last part came out much harsher than he intended.

“Come on, Jay.  It’s not like that, and you know it.  We’re worried about you.  This whole thing is so fucked up and it’s all-”  He blew out a huge breath that Jared knew meant he was trying not to say something he thought he would later regret. “And I’m just worried about you.”

“I’d be lying if I said all this doesn’t affect me.  You know it does.  You know I never imagined that this would be my life.  But I’m making the best of it – the best I know how.  And it would be a lot easier if we didn’t have to have a group counseling session every time something weird happens.  Because I hate to say it, but I predict there’s probably going to be a lot more weird to come.”  He flipped his pancakes and gave himself a dorky mental high-five at the perfect golden brown color.

“You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Daddy!” Brady called from the living room. “Are the pancakes ready?”

“Soon!  And I’m on the phone with Uncle Tommy!”

“Hi Uncle Tommy!”

Jared chucked.  “Your nephew says hi,” he said into the phone.

Tom laughed.  “Yeah, I heard. Man, I miss that kid.”

“Speaking of kids…” Jared began.  He could picture Tom tensing on the other end of the line.  “Have you and Mikey talked yet?”

“Sounds like you and Mikey have done enough talking,” Tom snipped back.

“Don’t get bitchy, Tommy. This is serious.”

Tom changed his tone.  “I know it is.  We talked.  We’ve come to an agreement.”

“Good.  I’m glad to hear it.” Flipping the last pancake onto a plate, he switched off the burner.  “Oh, and Tommy?  Next time you threaten to throw away Mikey’s birth control against his will, you’re going to have a very serious discussion with my fist.  Love you and Happy Saturday!” He sang cheerfully before hanging up.

He and Brady had a pleasant breakfast and Brady regaled him with stories of his and Sully’s adventures.  Once the dishes were cleaned, they agreed that it seemed like a nice day to take a walk around the neighborhood and to spend some time at Brady’s favorite park a few blocks from the house.

He and Brady dressed in old jeans and hoodies and hit the streets while the morning air was still crisp with a slight chill and the promise of a beautiful fall day.  They chased each other down the sidewalks and often stopped to speak to their neighbors and pet the neighborhood dogs.  Jared watched Brady playing with one of the neighbor’s mutts and wondered for what seemed like the thousandth time whether he should get the boy a dog.  Jared had always had at least one growing up but Jensen hadn’t wanted the added responsibility when they were married. 

They threw a football around at the park for a while before finally sprawling out on a blanket for a short rest and a small snack of apples and water.  Jared figured this was just as good a time to have their discussion as any.

“Brady.”

“Hm?” He hummed, preoccupied with his apple.

“I need to talk to you, bud.”

Brady turned his big eyes up to his dad before nodding.  “Okay, Daddy.  I’m listening to you.”

“Do you know what dating means?”

Scrunching up his nose in disgust, Brady nodded. “Sully told me.  Fancy dinner and kissing. Gross grown up stuff.”

Jared threw his head back and gave a deep laugh.  “That can be part of it.  But it happens when two people like each other and want to get to know each other better.  They spend time together doing different things, like going to dinner and watching movies.”

Brady frowned.  “Oookay,” he said slowly.  “Me and Sully like each other and we eat lunch together.  And we watch movies together.”  He gasped, a horrified expression on his face.  “Are me and Sully dating?”

Biting his lip to hide his smile, Jared shook his head.  “No, Bray.  You and Sully are not dating – you two are good friends.  You won’t be dating until you’re much older.”

Brady visibly relaxed.  “Okay.”  His eyes narrowed slightly.  “Is Papa dating Justin?”

“That’s a hard question.  You’re going to have to talk to your Papa about that.”  Jared took a deep breath.  That wasn’t the direction he wanted to go in at all.  Best to get the conversation back on track.  “The reason I asked you about dating is because I’ve been dating someone for a little while and I really like him.”  He paused to see if there would be an initial reaction but the boy just blinked up at him.  “His name is Stephen.  He’s really nice and I want you to meet him.  Maybe the three of us can hang out together.”

“So then I would be dating him?” Brady asked, clearly still confused and Jared almost chocked on his own spit.

“No!” He exclaimed, louder than he intended.  “No, I told you – you have to be much older to date.  No, you and Stephen could be friends, though.”

Shrugging, Brady went back to his apple.  “Okay, Daddy.” Nibbling on the skin of his apple, he tilted his head and considered his father seriously.  “What if I don’t like him?”

This caught Jared off guard.  There were very few people with whom Brady didn’t get along and most of them were kids from school who were mean to him.  Jared was surprised that he would even consider the possibility of not liking Stephen.  But Jared had already made a decision of what he would do if it happened.

“I’ll stop dating him.”

Brady nodded.  “Okay.”  He looked like he still had something on his mind, so Jared waited for him to voice it.  “Is Stephen nicer than Justin?”

Jared inwardly cringed.  He hated discussing Justin, especially with Brady.  He would never forget how gut-wrenching it had been to try to explain to the boy the fact that his Papa would be living with someone else, someone who wasn’t his husband and son. That had been one of the lowest days of Jared’s life.  Although, he no longer felt that great empty yearning he felt that day while speaking to Brady, it was still a difficult subject.

He sighed.  “I like Stephen much better than I like Justin.  But you have to decide if you like him for yourself.”

Brady’s light brows knit together and he pushed his lips out slightly while thinking.  Jared had to bite back a small smile as he was instantly reminded of Jensen.

“I don’t like Justin. I want Papa to stop dating him.”

Jared blow out a huge puff of air and felt himself deflate slightly.  What was he supposed to do with that?  “Brady…”

“Daddy! He never wants to play cars or read books or anything! He’s no fun!  Will Papa stop dating him?”

“Come here.”  He lifted his arm and Brady scooched over beneath it without hesitation.  Jared pulled him in close to his side for a moment.  “I don’t know if Papa will stop dating Justin.  But you know that your Papa loves you and would listen to you if you told him how you feel.  And it’ll probably make you feel better.”

Brady nodded.  “Okay.”

They sat that way in comfortable silence for a while longer, enjoying the way the cool breeze disturbed the leaves that had fallen around them, until Brady suggested they race over to the monkey bars.  The rest of the day flew by and while the conversation about Stephen had taken an unexpected turn, he was relieved that it seemed to have gone well.  The two of them did some grocery shopping, sat down to an easy dinner of sandwiches and salad, and ended the night with a jigsaw puzzle.

Jared tucked Brady into bed and fell into his own bed before tapping out a quick text to Stephen letting him know they were a go for the following day.  He smiled at the happy emoji he received in return.  They spent a few moments ironing out the details before he tossed his phone to the side and fell into a peaceful slumber.

\---J2J2J2---

Brady seemed exciting the following morning, asking Jared several times over breakfast where they were going that day. Jared repeated that it was a surprise and he would just have to wait and see.  After eating, he and Brady dressed in almost identical outfits – loose black track pants, sneakers, and long-sleeved t-shirts.  Brady’s contagious excitement served as the perfect distraction for the increasing anxiety he had been feeling since waking that morning.  The thought that Brady and Stephen might not get along was slightly distressing.  Of course, he would honor his statement to Brady if it came to that, but he hated the idea of breaking things off with Stephen.

Brady was just beginning to get restless and Jared was just beginning to get clammy hands when the doorbell rang.  Taking a deep breath, Jared calmed his frayed nerves and opened the door to find Stephen standing on the other side in basketball shorts, a long-sleeved shirt and a huge smile.  Seeing him there with Brady standing just behind, Jared somehow felt instantly less nervous.  It was happening and there was no turning back so he might as well just embrace the situation.  He and Stephen shared a brief hug before Jared stepped back to invite him in.

Smiling, Stephen knelt down before Brady, who had hung back observing the scene quietly.  “Hi! You must be Brady.  I’m Stephen.”  He stuck out his hand for a handshake.

Brady reached out and his hand was quickly engulfed by the larger one, but he gave it a few enthusiastic pumps with a toothy grin.  He was going through a phase during which he found handshakes to be incredibly grown up and impressive.

“Hi! Where are we going?”  Brady’s previous eagerness had clearly returned in full force. 

Stephen laughed good-naturedly.  “Sorry, little man, but it’s a surprise.  Not even your Dad knows yet. But,” he pitched his voice low and glanced over his shoulder at Jared with a quick wink.  “If you can manage to keep a secret, I’ll give you a hint.”

Bouncing excitedly, Brady nodded his head vigorously.  He seemed to remember Jared’s presence and forced himself to calm down before nodding again.

“Well,” Stephen leaned a little closer, making a show of protecting their secret.  “Where we’re going, you can climb on the walls without getting in trouble.”

Brady’s green eyes opened wide in amazement.  “Really?”

From Stephen’s hint Jared had a pretty good idea of where they were going but he kept the information to himself.  He couldn’t help but smile at the exchange.  Stephen and Brady were actually getting along much better than Jared could have imagined.  Stephen seemed to be a natural with the boy and it only made him like the other man more.

“Well guys,” Jared interrupted Brady’s barrage of questions about how they would be able to climb walls.  “We should probably get going.”

They walked out to a sleek blue compact SUV that Jared didn’t recognize.  Stephen always drove an expensive two-door convertible that Jared didn’t know enough about cars to be impressed with.  He turned to Stephen with a question in his expression.

The other man shrugged and Jared noticed the slight blush rising from his neck.  “Precious cargo.”

They switched Brady’s booster seat and piled into the car.  Stephen asked Brady questions about school, his hobbies, and his friends.  Brady was chatty and engaging while they drove out the suburb where Jared lived and into the city of Copper Bay.  Despite the fact that Jensen now lived in one of the swanky condos in the heart of the city, Brady was always enthralled by the throngs of people and towering buildings whenever he had a chance to come.  He pressed his face as close to the window glass as possible and began asking what felt like hundreds of questions about almost everything they passed.  Stephen took all the questions in stride and never seemed to lose patience. 

They pulled into a parking garage in the part of the city that was typically dominated by college students and quaint yuppie cafes and bookstores.  Brady held onto Jared’s hand to the elevator and Stephen discreetly grabbed his other hand during the ride down to the second floor.  They shared a secret smile and Jared felt something beginning to warm in his chest.

They exited the elevator into a spacious lobby that had signs for a few fast food restaurants, a small shopping mall, and a place called the Rock Recreation Center.  They passed through the automatic sliding doors of the Rock Recreation Center and Brady immediately gasped at the massive room before them.  It was a huge open space with impossibly tall tan walls peppered with multi-colored climb holds that stretched up to a skylight that spanned the entire length of the room. Jared could see the front of an arcade when he glanced at the back of the space.

“Wow!” Brady exclaimed, neck craning to see the top of the nearest wall and track the moments of the climbers.  “Can I go up there?”

Stephen was watching Jared’s reaction with caution.  “I’m really sorry. It didn’t occur to me until we were already in the car that I probably should have checked to make sure you were cool with this.”

Jared nodded but smiled.  “Probably.  But this was a great idea.  Brady’s going to love this.”

Brady beamed. “Yay!” He pointed up at a women with her legs spread wide as she scaled a wall across the room.  “Look, Daddy!  She’s so high!”

Stephen presented his membership pass to the staff at the front desk and asked for two guest passes for the day.  Jared completed the requisite waiver for Brady before they were assigned the appropriate gear and a staff member to help.  Brady was a quick learner and it wasn’t long before he was clinging to the wall, looking like he had been doing this his whole life.  The three of them frolicked up and down the walls until Brady proclaimed that he was hungry.  Brady’s face was red from laughing hysterically at Stephen’s silly faces and other antics while suspended on the ropes.  They returned the climbing gear and headed over to the small food court where Brady made a strong argument that they all needed chicken fingers and French fries after all that climbing.

The food was almost gone when Brady set down his drink and smiled over at Stephen.  “This was awesome!  Thank you.  I can’t wait to tell Sully.  He’s gonna be so jealous!”

Jared and Stephen chuckled at him.  “You are very welcome, little man.  But the day’s not over yet.”

“Really?”

Stephen suggested they spend some time in the arcade and challenged Jared to an intense pinball battle, which Jared easily won.  Stephen seemed to have many skills and talents, but pinball clearly was not one of them. Jared teased him mercilessly but Brady quickly came to the other man’s defense and told his father to be nice.  Brady quickly became engrossed in a race car game and Jared took the opportunity to speak softly to Stephen.

“This was such a good idea.  Thank you.”

Stephen smiled, his eyes bright with merriment.  “I’m really glad Brady’s having such a good time.  He’s a great kid.”

Jared smiled and linked their hands.  “You’re a great guy.”

“So cheesy,” Stephen teased. “I’m glad we did this.”

They left a little later and Brady used their combined tickets to pick out a large stuffed dinosaur with neon sunglasses, which he insisted on strapping into the car seat beside him.  His eyelids started drooping before the car left the garage and it wasn’t long before he was out cold.

“So, I think that went well,” Stephen whispered.

“Yeah, you’re kind of a natural with him,” Jared praised with a smile.

Stephen glanced away from the road for a second with a raised eyebrow.  “You sound surprised.”

“It’s a relief.  I don’t have to kick you to the curb just yet.”

Stephen nodded, lips quirked in a small smile.  His right hand came to rest comfortably on Jared’s thigh and, as if they had been doing it for years, Jared threaded their fingers together.  He had never felt this way before, this slow blossoming sensation all over.  As if what the two of them shared was like a live being, gradually being pieced together with an incredible amount of care.  Even with Jensen, they had burned so hot and so fast in the beginning that sometimes Jared felt like he could barely breathe during their whirlwind.

Jared let his head drop back to the headrest with a sigh and closed his eyes, content to let Stephen navigate the roads back to the house.  This thing with Stephen was drastically different from what he’d experienced in his past with Jensen.  But Jared was beginning to think that he could learn to love change.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a difficult chapter to write for some reason. I apologize if that's obvious when reading it. Sorry the ending is bit abrupt but I just needed to get this posted.  
> Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it but please let me know your thoughts either way.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A year ago, he never could have imagined that things would end up like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuse for the incredibly long lag between updates. I honestly wasn't sure if I would continue with this story, but as you can see it's still very much alive. This is a lengthier update, hopefully that can be something of a peace offering?
> 
> Thanks to everyone still reading this! And to anyone just finding it.

Jensen yanked open the door to his office so forcefully that the sound of it slamming into the adjacent wall was heard throughout the office space.  The backs of the individuals occupying the cubes outside his office stiffened in anticipation of what was to come.  The past few weeks had taught them that there was no telling who would be on the receiving end of Jensen’s sudden short temper.  They held their breath to see who it would be this time.

“Brock!” Jensen shouted the name of one of his direct reports, Brock Kelly, and waved around his printed copy of the younger man’s slide presentation.  “Fuck is this shit?”

Brock took a noticeable deep breath before rising from his seat and coming around to stand before Jensen.  “Is something wrong with the presentation, Jensen?”  By this point, the rest of the floor had stopped working to try to watch the conversation as inconspicuously as possible.

“You’re damn right there’s something wrong with it! It’s incoherent, incohesive, and inconclusive!”

Brock’s face momentarily morphed and for a second it looked as if he was going to rise to Jensen’s bait but he quickly schooled his features.  “You approved the slides last week, though.”

By this time, Jensen’s raised voice had caused Jim to wander out of his office to check out the commotion. He decided to put an end to this spectacle before Jensen had a chance to respond.

“Alright boys,” he boomed from the doorway of his own office.  “Kelly, get back to work and Ackles,” he leveled Jensen with a look.  “Join me in my office.”  With that, he walked back inside, and everyone knew that he wasn’t making a suggestion.

Jim was already seated behind his desk when Jensen stalked in and shut the door soundly behind himself.  For a moment the two men just regarded each other silently before Jim rose back up and grabbed his suit jacket from the back of his chair.

“Get your stuff.  We’re going to lunch.”

Jensen frowned, caught off guard.  He’d been expecting to get reamed for going off on Brock, not an invitation to lunch.  Besides, he wasn’t in the mood to shoot the shit with his boss right then, despite the level of respect he had for the man.  “Not today, Jim.  I’ve got way too much shit to do.”

“If that came off as an optional invitation, that’s my mistake.  We’re going to lunch so I suggest you close out anything you’re doing and meet me at the elevators in exactly 3 minutes.”

Jensen rolled his eyes but complied.  Neither spoke during the ride down and the short walk down the block to the little pub where they often had lunch.  Jensen allowed his mind to wander in the midday city sounds.

Ever since their first outing to the rock climbing facility, Brady had been talking what seemed nonstop about how cool Stephen was.  Over the course of the last month Brady and Jared had been spending a lot of time with the club owner and his son always had a new story to share about their adventures.  During Brady’s gushing Jensen had to remind himself to stop grinding his teeth lest he cause permanent damage.  It was bad enough the blue-eyed devil insisted on dating Jared but now he was winning over his son, too.  To make matters worse, Brady had shared with Jensen that he’d invited Stephen to the Halloween party the group threw each year.

Jim frequented the restaurant often enough to have a “regular spot” and the hostess wasted no time in getting them seated and situated with menus and water.  He glanced at Jensen with raised eyebrows.  “I’m assuming we might need something a little stronger for this conversation, what do you think?”

Jensen shrugged petulantly.  “You’re the boss.”

Grunting, Jim rolled his eyes before ordering them both a whiskey.  They enjoyed the pleasant burn in peace for a few moments before their waitress took their orders and left them alone in their deserted section of the pub.

“Alright, boy,” Jim began, leveling a look that Jensen knew meant business.  “I’ve given you a month to pull your head completely out of your ass and it’s still firmly lodged.  Now you have the opportunity to tell me what in the _fuck_ is going on.”

For the briefest of moments Jensen planned to feign ignorance, but the idea was gone as quickly as it came.  He wasn’t sure if it was the whiskey loosening him up or if it was sheer emotional exhaustion but he suddenly felt as though he _had_ to talk about what was going on even if it was to Jim Beaver.

Heaving a huge sigh, Jensen stared into the bottom of his glass.  “I’ve made a huge ass mess of my life.”  He glanced up but Jim clearly expected him to elaborate. “I fucked up my marriage, my relationship with Justin is pretty fucked up, and now my son is inviting some other guy to our family gatherings.”

Now Jim looked confused.  “Other guy?”

Jensen pursed his lips.  “Jared is _dating_ and Brady loves the guy.”

“Most idjits would think that’s a good thing.” His eyes narrowed.  “But I happen to know that you’re a special kind of idjit.”

Jensen didn’t take offense.  “Yeah, I am.”  He allowed himself to trail off when the waitress came back with their food. 

Jim cleared his throat when it appeared that Jensen wasn’t going to continue.  “Listen, this is not a friendly lunch.  You’ve been impossible to work with recently and it stops now.  Now I’m trying to give you the opportunity to get whatever it is off your chest because although I don’t like you, you’ve always been like a son to me.”

Jensen felt his lips quirk up.  He knew it meant the opposite whenever Jim said he didn’t like him.  It struck him how lucky he was to have the older man in his life.  He’d given him his first real chance straight out of college.  And with the way he’d been behaving lately, any other supervisor would have kicked his ass out the door long ago.  “I really don’t know what to say, Jim.  I hate the fact that Jay is dating this _Stephen_ and that Brady is spending so much time with him.  But I know it’s my own damn fault.”

“Why do you care who Jared dates?  You have Justin.”

The humorless bark of laughter that escaped Jensen surprised them both.  “Justin and I are a joke.”

Jim chewed his sandwich thoughtfully.  “That’s news to me.  I thought you were disgustingly happy together.”

Jensen took a deep breath.  He was about to say something he had yet to admit out loud.  “My relationship with Justin was based on an immature desire to do something different – to have fun.  We have nothing in common and, at this point, I don’t even know if we like each other anymore.”

Jim knocked back the rest of his drink and quickly signaled for another round.  “That’s some sad shit, kid.”

Jensen finished his drink and barely resisted the reflex to slam the glass back down on the table.  “Yeah, it is.”

“So what are you going to do about it?”

Jensen shrugged helplessly.  “What the hell am I supposed to do about it?  It’s not like I can go back in time and not ask Jared for a divorce.”

“Do you want to get back with Jared?”

Hesitating, Jensen frowned.  Did he?  A small art of him still balked at the thought of going back in time to when his life was nothing but going to work in the morning and coming home at night – the same routine every day.  But the rest of him longed for the days when he would stumble into the front door, too tired to hold his head up, and have Brady latch onto his calf and Jared greet him with a soft smile and a kiss on the cheek.  His chest suddenly ached to have them both in his arms like their movie nights when Brady would end up knocked out in his lap and Jared would snore and drool against his shoulder.

“I think I just want my family back, Jim.”

The older man nodded, a slow smile working its way onto his face.  “It’s about damn time.”

J2J2J2J2

Jared barely controlled the desire to whistle while walking down the long corridors of the Hope Hospitals and Medical Center flagship hospital towards Jeff’s office.  They were going out to lunch for their weekly update and Jared was in a great mood.  He and Brady had spent the previous weekend at Stephen’s apartment on the western edge of downtown Copper Bay.  Brady had been enthralled by Stephen’s mutt, Terrence. 

Since Stephen and Brady met, the two of them had bonded over their love of dogs and outdoor activities.  Sometimes Jared felt like he needed to pinch himself.  He never could have imagined that things would be this good, especially in those dark days right after Jensen had left.  Being with Stephen was easy and it made him incredibly happy, which was why he finally felt ready to take their relationship to the next level.  The two of them would be spending the weekend at Stephen’s cottage beside the bay for which the city of Copper Bay was named and Jared planned to surprise him with the news.

He practically skipped into Jeff’s office suite and was greeted by Misha, Jeff’s administrative assistant.  Misha smiled when his blue eyes landed on him.  “Well, hello sexy,” he purred.  “Those khakis are doing everything for you.  You know we have time for a quickie before your lunch date; Jeff is finishing up a meeting.”

Jared laughed heartily and managed to blush at the same time.  Misha always seemed to have that effect on people.  “You’re married, or have you forgotten?”  He took a seat across from Misha’s desk, which was situated right outside Jeff’s closed office door. “And where the hell is HR when you need them?”

Scoffing, Misha shuffled a few files around his immaculate desk.  “HR is never around at the appropriate time.  And, trust me, Vicki would love to join us.  All I have to do is make a phone call.”

“Having met Vicki, I really don’t doubt that,” Jared replied just as Jeff’s door opened and he emerged with the woman Jared recognized as the head of the plastic surgery department, escorting her to the suite entrance.

“Trust me, Kathy, I hear you and I’ll make sure we thoroughly consider all our options on this.”  Jeff was placating her with what Jared referred to as his “Governor Morgan” voice.

Kathy nodded with the severe expression she always wore.  “Thank you, Jeffrey.  The department can’t possibly continue in its current state – not if you expect us to keep making this kind of money for the health system.”

Jeff closed the door behind her before turning back to Jared and Misha with a roll of his eyes.  “That woman has been asking for me to expand the practice for a year now.” He shook his head.

Jared frowned.  “But there isn’t any available clinic space in that wing of the building since the last big move.”

“Yeah, I know.  She wants to repurpose some of the dermatology rooms beside the plastics space.”

“What?”, Jared exclaimed incredulously.  “But derm is at full room utilization.  There’s no way they can afford to lose any exam rooms.”

Rubbing a hand across his beard, Jeff sighed and went to grab his suit jacket. “I know that, too.  But she’s adamant about building capacity within the department and convinced that physical expansion is the way to do it.  I need you to put together some reports.  Make the case for load balancing their appointment schedules rather than taking up more space.”

Jared nodded, though his mind was running through all the other work he already had on his plate.

“Alright, boss,” Misha called from behind his monitor.  “I’m looking at your schedule and you have a Patient Safety Committee meeting in an hour so if you want to actually chew your food, you had better get going.”

Jeff heaved another sigh and gestured for Jared to follow him.  “Fuck, is it any wonder nothing gets done around here?  They have me in meetings for the 12 hours I’m here every day.”

Jared knew Jeff loved his job and was used to his grumbling.  The fast pace and high demand for performance gave him a high that kept him coming back despite the continuous offers for from other institutions that came his way.

The weather had turned rainy in the last day and the wind had a distinct chill so they opted for one of the small boutique cafés attached to the hospital.  The two men talked business while they waited for their food but Jeff changed the subject once it arrived.

“Alright, you know Misha can’t keep his mouth shut so I know you’ve got a new man in your life.  You might as well spill.”

Jared could feel his cheeks coloring.  “Well, his name is Stephen and we were really close as kids.  He’s amazing with Brady and…I don’t know, things are just great right now.  I’m really happy, Jeff.”

Jeff smiled so that his dimples flashed.  “Wow, this must be serious if he’s already hanging out with Brady.  I’m happy for you, kiddo.”

Jared ducked his head, somehow still bashful about it.  “Thanks.”

So, uh,” Jeff to a casual sip of his water.  “What does Jensen have to say about you dating?”

“What can he say? He’s living with someone else.”  He fiddled with the wrapper to his straw.  “He clearly isn’t happy about it, though.”

“What do you think that means?”

“It means he’s going to have to figure that out for himself.  It’s not my problem.”

Jeff leaned back in his seat and scrutinized Jared for a moment with an unreadable expression.  “Well, there clearly seems to be a new Jared in town.”

Jared nodded, chuckling.  “I guess there is.”

J2J2J2

Jensen walked up to the front door of the condo and couldn’t remember ever feeling so tired in his life.  He’d had a client request an emergency meeting but had offered 7 pm as his only available time.  This being Jensen’s week with Brady, Jensen had asked his parents to pick his son up from school.  It’s not like he could as Justin to do it.  When he’d realized how late the meeting was running, he’d shot his parents at text asking them to keep Brady overnight.  Of course Donna was more than happy to but Jensen still felt the familiar sharp bitterness over the fact that his partner couldn’t watch his son for a few hours.

As soon as Jensen entered, he got the feeling that things were off.  When he told Justin that he would be home late the other man said that he would be out with friends, anyway.  Jensen had been relieved that for once there hadn’t been a fight from his boyfriend.  But when he entered his home, he could see that Justin must have been home for dinner.  There were dirty dishes on the counter that hadn’t been there in the morning.  Frowning, Jensen tossed his jacket and keys down on the nearest chair and made his way into the kitchen.  There were wineglasses in the sink – two of them.

Just then, Jensen became aware of a soft, repetitive sound that he couldn’t quite place.  It was coming from the bedroom, but Jensen could see that there was no light seeping from beneath the closed door.  Jensen slowly crept over, not exactly sure why he was creeping.

“Oh shit,” a voice suddenly moaned.  “Don’t stop.”

Jensen’s blood ran ice cold.  That was clearly Justin’s voice and there was no he was telling his vibrator not to stop.  But it wasn’t until another male voice grunted in response that Jensen was spurred into action.

He simultaneously ripped the bedroom door open and flicked the switch, flooding the room with light.  A stranger’s bare ass greeted him mid-pump before the stranger glanced over his shoulder, expression a mixture of surprise and pleasure.  Justin sat up so that he could see around his bed partner’s torso.

“Jensen?” He seemed genuinely shocked at his presence, as if Jensen didn’t live there.

Jensen stood there vibrating with a numbing sort of shock.  His voice was unbelievably steady when he said, “You both have exactly 30 seconds to get the fuck out of here.”

The stranger took him seriously, dismounted and began gathering up his clothes, dick now softened up in the condom.  Justin didn’t make any move to oblige, simply using the comforter to cover his nakedness.

“Jensen-“, he began but Jensen cut him off.”

“What part of ‘get the fuck out’ do you not understand?”  They could hear the front door slam shut as the stranger completed his escape.

“No, I’m not leaving until we talk about this.”

Jensen started pacing to keep from bodily dragging Justin from the bed.  The little should call the cops without any hesitation.  “What’s to talk about?  You fucked some guy in the bed we share.  I’ll probably have to burn the mattress and you and I are clearly over.  Things seem perfectly clear to me.”  Jensen still wasn’t quite sure why he was so calm – where was the yelling, crying, any expression of the blatant betrayal?

Justin scoffed.  “Of course we’re over.  We’ve been over, assuming we ever even started.”

That made Jensen stop his pacing and face the man for whom he’d spent the last year of his life.  “Fuck are you talking about?”

Instead of answering right away, Justin climbed out of the bed and began gathering his discarded clothing, now unembarrassed by his nudity.  “I’ve never had you, Jensen, not fully.”  Justin stopped to face him.  “Even when we’re together, part of you is with him – with Jared.”  Jensen opened his mouth but Justin continued.  “Don’t try to deny it.  I could see it from the beginning; too much of you is wrapped up in Jared.  And it’s more than sharing a child and mutual friends.  I thought after some time you’d be able to really move on, that I would be able to complete.  But I can’t and I shouldn’t have to.”  He finished stuffing random items into an overnight bag.  “You need to figure out what you really want, Jensen, before you waste another year of someone else’s life.”  He moved to the entrance of the bedroom.  “I’ll be back for the rest of my things while you’re at work.”  With that, he walked out of the condo and out of Jensen’s life.

Left alone, the adrenaline left Jensen and he collapsed into a nearby chair, head in his hands.  He found that he couldn’t stop shaking and was shocked to find his throat clogging with tears.  But they weren’t for Justin.  These tears came with the realization that everything the other man had said was absolutely true.  A year ago, he never could have imagined that things would end up like this.

J2J2J2

What Stephen had modestly referred to as a cottage turned out to be a large, two-story Craftsman bungalow facing with bay with a porch and two acres of land.  Jared still hadn’t managed to stop drooling over the view from the spacious family room when Stephen came in from letting Terrence run out his energy after the drive over.  His strong arms wound around Jared’s waist from behind as he placed soft kisses to the side of his neck.

“This place is amazing.”  Jared’s voice had taken on a breathy quality under Stephen’s onslaught.

The other man gave a low chuckle.  “I’m glad you like it, babe.”

Jared turned and cupped Stephen’s cheek, those blue eyes sparkling up at him. “You’re amazing too, you know.”  He pressed their lips together in a chaste kiss.  He could feel Stephen’s mouth quirking into a small smile and pulled away.

“So me and the house are amazing, huh?” He was teasing him.  Jared rolled his eyes just as his stomach gave a loud grumble.  Stephen laughed and stepped towards the kitchen.  “Looks like I’ve been given my marching orders.” He began emptying the grocery bags they’d brought with them.  “Why don’t you go get settled in while I toss some things on the grill,” he suggested.

Blushing at his treacherous stomach, Jared hesitated at the marble island separating the kitchen from the family room.  “Sure I can’t help?”  But Stephen was already busy unwrapping steaks and assured Jared it wouldn’t take more than a few minutes and he had things under control.

Jared carried his bag upstairs to the spacious master bedroom decorated in chocolate brown and a muted blue.  Dropping his bag, Jared stared at the king-sized bed and couldn’t help but imagine him and Stephen there together.  He could picture Stephen’s taunt muscles bulging as he held himself over Jared, kissing his way down his body, drawing sounds of pleasure from his lips. 

Already, Jared could feel the stir of arousal deep in his belly, anticipation of the night to come making him slightly breathless.  He wandered into the en-suite bathroom and started the shower running.  Conscious of dinner waiting downstairs, but more conscious of his own plans, Jared took some time in the shower to not only clean off but to also prep himself for the night.  He kept a hand on the slick tiles while he used his other to tease his hole – just enough to get him slightly relaxed and pliant.  He was aware of the heat tinging his neck and chest.  It hadn’t been so long since he’d done this to himself, but it seemed like forever since he’d don’t this with the knowledge that another’s fingers would soon follow.  He ignored his cock, focusing on this solitary task, and willed his body to relax as he dressed in tight jeans and a soft long-sleeved tshirt.

Stephen was gathering wine glasses when he made his way downstairs.  He smiled over at Jared.  “Well, someone looks refreshed,” he quipped.  Jared flushed, briefly panicking at the thought that Stephen somehow knew what he’d done upstairs, but the other man quickly moved on.  “Want to grab that bottle of wine?  I set dinner up at the patio beside the water.  I hope that’s okay.”

Jared recovered from his momentary scare, smiling as he grabbed the bottle.  “That sounds perfect.”  Dinner was steaks and veggies grilled to perfection and paired with an excellent wine that Stephen had picked up on one of his many trips to Napa Valley.  The lights of the Copper Bay skyline glittered on the bay beside them and conversation flowed naturally as it always did between them, but Jared found his mind drifting away, thinking about what was to come.  He could feel some of the certainty of earlier leaving him to be replaced by jittering nerves.  He’d only ever had sex with one person and here he was about to change that record.  He and Jensen always had what he thought was a healthy and immensely satisfying sex life.  But Jared didn’t have anything with which to compare.  What if he wasn’t able to satisfy Stephen?  What if he made a fool of himself and Stephen thought him inexperienced and pathetic?  It was the voice of the subject of his troubling thoughts that startled him back to the dinner table.

A concerned frown marred his features and he had a light grasp on Jared’s hand.  “Are you alright, JT?  You seem a bit distracted.”

“What makes you say that,” Jared asked, stalling.

Stephen grinned.  “Well, for one thing I had to call you name three times.”

Jared let out an embarrassed huff of a laugh.  “Sorry about that.  I guess I’m still a little overwhelmed by this place.”

Stephen gazed across the table at him with a soft expression, his features lit by the dim glow of the outdoor lanterns surrounding them.  “Have I mentioned how gorgeous you look tonight?”  Jared knew his cheeks were stained pink and he glanced down bashfully.  “C’mere,” Stephen murmured and gestured for Jared to join him on the other side of the table.

Jared gave him a questioning look before rising and making his way over at the same time that Stephen pushed his chair back away from the table.  Jared made a small sound of protest when the other man gently pulled him down to sit across his lap.

“Stephen, I’m too heavy,” he chided and made a move to get up but Stephen’s strong grip kept him in place.

“No, you aren’t.”  He held Jared’s gaze.  “You’re perfect.”  He brushed back the strands of hair the slight breeze blew into Jared’s eyes before leaning up to capture his lips in a languid kiss.  It was an unhurried exploration, tongues sweeping and colliding.  They drank in the familiar taste of one another, now tinged with the strong essence of the wine.  Jared’s arms wound their way around Stephen’s broad shoulders and one of Stephen’s hands twisted into the waves at the nape of Jared’s neck as the other settled heavily on his hip.  Lungs screaming for hair, Jared gasped when Stephen pulled away to kiss along his jaw, nipping down the side of his neck and sucking at the spot where it met his shoulder.  Jared shuddered and raked up the bottom of the other man’s skirt, sliding his hands up the warm skin, eliciting a contented sigh.

Stephen moved his maddening assault to the other side of Jared’s neck and his own hands found their way under Jared’s shirt - first scorching the skin at his sides before sliding around to skip his sensitive nipples.  Jared’s moan seemed to startle them both and Stephen hissed when he pressed his hips down onto his growing erection.

Swallowing audibly, Stephen leaned back in seat to put some distance between them.  “Maybe we should slow down some.”  It took another moment for Jared’s brain to catch up.  They had never gone further than this before, Jared not yet ready to take that step despite Stephen’s obvious desire for him.  And he was trying to cool things off now to remind Jared that he was going to wait for him until he was ready.  The realization caused Jared’s heart to swell even more and solidified his resolve to move forward that night.

He cupped his cheek and dropped a soft kiss to hips before pulling back to look into those mesmerizing eyes.  “I think we should take this inside, preferably to the bedroom.”

It was obvious when the implications of his words dawned on him because eyes got impossibly wide and his hands tightened on Jared’s waist.  “Are you sure?”

Sucking in a deep, cleansing breath of the cool fresh air, Jared nodded.  “I’m sure.”

They made quick work of the remnants of dinner and stumbled up to the bedroom, kissing and giggling like teenagers while they tugged at stubborn clothing.  Jared found himself lying back on the bed stripped down to his boxer briefs with Stephen, still wearing his jeans, gazing down at him.  He leaned down and captured Jared’s mouth in a probing kiss, but slid away even as Jared moved to deepen it further.  He kissed his way down Jared’s chest until his hot, wet mouth sealed over one of his dusky nipples.  Moaning, Jared arched up off the bed and Stephen grinned up at him.

“I’ve wanted to do this for so long.”  He went back to work before Jared could form a coherent response, his tongue flicking mercilessly over the hardened nub and using his fingers to give the lfet nipple similar treatment.

Jared was rock hard and leaking precome at this point, hips thrusting up to meet Stephen’s jean-clad bulge.  He wanted to feel the other man and was just about to protest about his layers and start fumbling with his buttons when Stephen was suddenly back on the move.  He had leaned back enough to remove Jared’s underwear and swooped back down to wrap his lips around his engorged cock before Jared had a chance to comprehend the movement.

“Holy shit!” He gasped out in surprise.  The only thing stopping him from thrusting up into the scalding heat of Stephen’s mouth was the bruising grip he had on his hips.  It only took a few moments of experimentation for Stephen to figure out the combinations of speed and pressure that made Jensen most vocal.  Jared groaned and writhed and was completely unprepared for the sensation of a finger sneaking past his balls to gently probe at his hole.  He gasped and had a brief moment wondering when Stephen had managed to grab lube.  But his mind quickly blanked out when that finger breached him.

“Stephen,” he breathed out, burying his fingers into the short hair.  He was lost in the desire to thrust up into the tight heat engulfing his cock while also wanting to push back onto the finger penetrating him when another was added.  Stephen stretched him slowly and methodically, never once losing the focused attention he was devoting to Jared’s throbbing dick.  Jared could feel the tell-tale coiling building in his belly and tried to vocalize a warning.

“I-I’m…I’m gonna-“ he broke off into a startled shout when Stephen chose that moment to graze his prostate and then continue to stroke it with his fingers.  Jared’s toes curled and became vaguely aware of Stephen pulling off to replace his mouth his hand just as the first thick ropes of cum began flowing out of the flared head and onto his contracting abs.

It took Jared a few moments to come down from his orgasm, and his eyes fluttered closed as he continued to clench around Stephen’s fingers through the aftershocks.  Stephen was biting his lip and gazing down at him when he opened his eyes, pupils blown so that there was just a thin ring of blue around the edges.  Jared inhaled sharply at the urgency to get Stephen inside of him that suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks.  He hauled him down for a crushing kiss, Stephen just barely catching himself with his unoccupied hand.  Jared licked into his mouth like he was trying to crawl inside and his hands struggled to undo the other man’s jeans.

Stephen tore his mouth away, panting and lightheaded.  “Shit, Jared.” 

Hearing his full name on Stephen’s lips sent a thrill through Jared, his movements were frantic at this point.  “Please, Stephen.”  He shoved the offending pants and underwear down.  “Now.”

Stephen shuddered at the Jared’s begging and pulled his fingers free, momentarily ignoring Jared’s whimper.  He made quick work of a condom and lube, once again moving faster than Jared could track in his current state.  But he became very still once he was leaning back over Jared, cock lined up with the puckered entrance, arms trembling with the restraint.

“I have to ask again - are you sure?”

Instead of using words, Jared wrapped his long legs around Stephen’s waist and pulled him closer, causing his thick dick to nudge at Jared’s fluttering hole and shallowly breach him.  They both gasp and Jared could see Stephen’s abs twitching in an effort to control his hips.  Stephen slowly eased further in, pausing to give Jared chances to adjust to the girth.  For a moment the only sound in the room was their harsh breathing once Stephen was fully inside.

“I can’t believe how good you feel,” he growled out, leaning down to nip at Jared’s bottom lip. Jared cried out at the shift and canted his hips to make it happen again.  Stephen smirked devilishly.  “Liked that, huh?”  He began moving, slowly pumping his hips in a way that had elicited long, lustful moans that he would probably embarrassed about later.  His hands explored the chiseled expanse of Stephen’s back, eventually finding their way to his firm ass, squeezing and urging him to go harder, faster.  Stephen quickly obliged and Jared’s moans were transformed into sharp cries as Stephen managed to nail his prostate with almost every snap of his hips.  Jared knew he wouldn’t last much longer and wrapped a hand around himself, stroking in time with Stephen’s thrusts.

The other man caught the moment and urged him on.  “That’s right, baby.”  He was starting to lose his rhythm, thrusts becoming slightly erratic and Jared got the sense that he was close.  Stephen cursed and was suddenly grinding against Jared as if he couldn’t quite get close enough for his liking, grunting softly with the effort.  The new sensation sent a jolt threw Jared that was enough to send to him toppling unexpectedly over the edge.  He must have taken the other man with him because he could feel him shuddering and hear him groaning through the haze of his own orgasm.

Stephen managed to carefully pulled out and disposed of condom.  He then collapsed onto him gracelessly and Jared sputtered out a laugh before wrapping him up in his arms.  “Sorry,” he panted.  “I probably weigh a ton.” He tried to shift but Jared’s arms tightened around him.

“Stop, don’t move.” He signed contentedly, enjoying the other man’s warm weight while they both caught their breath.

Stephen propped himself up on his elbows so he could look into Jared’s face.  “How do you feel?”

Jared smiled wryly.  “Thoroughly fucked?”

Stephen gasped in mock horror.  “Jared Tristan, you watch your language,” he admonished, clearly mimicking Jared’s mother.

Grimacing at the memories, Jared shook his head.  “Ew.”  But he then took a moment to sincerely consider Stephen’s question. “I feel….”  He paused and licked his lips nervously.  “I think I’m falling for you, Stephen.”

“You think?” He questioned.  But he was smiling softly as he tilted his head down to press their lips together and Jared knew he wasn’t looking for any sort of explanation. 

So, instead Jared allowed himself to relax into the sweet kiss, wrapped securely in this man’s arms.  A year ago, he never could have imagined that things would end up like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That last section was hard. =/


End file.
